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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 116 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bass — the fish
  6. wound — an injury
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mate — to breed
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. key — for a lock
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. stem — to come from
  14. wound — an injury
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bass — low music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. key — in music
  20. shower — rain
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. mate — a partner

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