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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. perch — the fish
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wake — a trail
  11. band — a music group
  12. file — a document
  13. craft — boats
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. file — a tool
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rash — a series
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bass — low music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. craft — a skill
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. band — a ring

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