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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: spell · clip · track · fall · bass · craft · mouse · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. track — to keep track
  4. clip — to cut
  5. craft — a skill
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. track — a path
  8. row — a line
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fall — to drop
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. row — to paddle
  14. spell — magic
  15. craft — boats
  16. bass — the fish
  17. track — a song
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. bass — low music
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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