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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: bass · board · staff · can · clip · lean · wound · cold

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lean — to bend
  7. can — a tin
  8. board — to get on
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — an illness
  11. clip — for paper
  12. staff — employees
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. can — to be able to
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. clip — a video
  19. wound — an injury
  20. board — a committee
  21. cold — not warm
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bass — low music
  24. can — a tin

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