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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lie · mug · track · bass · club · hand · clip · bat

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bass — the fish
  5. lie — to recline
  6. mug — a face
  7. bass — low music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. track — to keep track
  11. hand — help
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. club — for golf
  15. track — a song
  16. mug — to rob
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. mug — a cup
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com