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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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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. present — the time now
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. fall — the season
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bass — the fish
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — there
  18. straw — a straw man

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