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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stock — shares
  6. bass — low music
  7. drill — the tool
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stock — goods
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. ground — the earth
  16. drill — army training
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. stem — to come from

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