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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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. cue — a hint
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. content — the amount
  7. bass — the fish
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cue — for pool
  11. content — happy
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. spring — of water
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. spring — the season
  18. stem — a stem cell

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