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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mark — a trace
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. dip — to sink
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bass — low music
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bass — the fish
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. track — to keep track
  18. stem — of a plant

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