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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: firm · clip · bass · ball · cell · rush · content · squash

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. clip — to cut
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. clip — a video
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. content — happy
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bass — the fish
  16. firm — decided
  17. ball — a dance
  18. squash — to crush
  19. ball — a great time
  20. firm — a company
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. firm — steady
  23. content — the amount
  24. cell — a phone

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