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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: hand · fan · temple · bass · cap · clip · rash · pitch

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — completely
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. hand — in cards
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. rash — a series
  16. hand — help
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cap — a hat
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cap — a lid
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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