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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 116 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: kid · bass · stem · bowl · plane · swing · clip · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. swing — music
  5. bass — low music
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. swing — to play on
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. fine — high quality
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. swing — in golf
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. plane — a tool
  20. clip — a video
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. stem — to come from
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. plane — in geometry

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