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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ground — a position
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ground — crushed
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. fork — a garden tool

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