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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 120 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: cold · face · pound · key · bass · bay · clip · sharp

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cold — an illness
  12. key — in music
  13. face — to confront
  14. sharp — clever
  15. face — part of the head
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pound — a weight

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