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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bass — low music
  6. content — happy
  7. face — part of the head
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. content — the amount
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. face — to point toward
  12. plane — a tool
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. club — a group
  16. band — a ring
  17. face — to confront
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mine — for digging
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bass — the fish
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. content — videos and posts

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