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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. season — in sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. row — a line
  8. game — a match
  9. season — of the year
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bass — the fish
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument

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