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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bass — low music
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. land — ground
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. file — a document
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cue — for pool
  13. swing — to play on
  14. rock — a stone
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rock — music
  19. file — a tool
  20. swing — in golf
  21. cue — a hint
  22. swing — music
  23. board — to get on
  24. land — a country

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