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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: clip · field · pop · plane · bass · wound · stand · spell

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stand — to bear
  3. pop — music
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. spell — letters
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — a video
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bass — low music
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bass — the fish
  19. field — a subject
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. clip — to cut
  22. plane — a tool
  23. spell — magic
  24. pop — soda

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