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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: swing · hand · clip · bay · track · band · stem · bass

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. swing — to play on
  3. track — a path
  4. clip — for paper
  5. swing — in golf
  6. hand — help
  7. band — a ring
  8. hand — in cards
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bass — the fish
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. stem — to come from
  17. clip — a video
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bass — low music
  20. band — a music group
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. swing — music

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