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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bass — low music
  6. last — to go on
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. last — finally
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. vault — a safe
  15. sharp — clever
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. last — final
  21. squash — to crush
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mine — for digging

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