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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 120 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: clip · bass · spring · ball · fine · arm · mark · game

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fine — high quality
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. mark — a grade
  9. clip — for paper
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ball — a great time
  12. clip — a video
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bass — low music
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. bass — the fish
  20. fine — all right
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bass — the instrument

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