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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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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. content — happy
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. ground — crushed
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. content — the amount
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. stem — to come from
  18. vault — a safe

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