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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: fan · bank · court · bass · bowl · bore · clip · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. clip — a video
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. spring — of water
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bank — for money
  11. court — of law
  12. bank — for money
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bore — to drill
  19. court — of a king
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bass — low music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bore — to tire
  24. court — for sport

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