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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bass — low music
  3. kick — in football
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. scale — in music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. scale — size or range
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. hand — help
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. dip — to dunk

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