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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · bass · pound · can · clip · chip · face · field

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. can — a tin
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chip — to eat
  10. field — a subject
  11. chip — for betting
  12. can — to be able to
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. field — farmland
  16. clip — to cut
  17. can — a tin
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bass — the fish
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. field — for sport
  23. clip — a video
  24. chip — in a computer

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