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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. lean — thin
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rash — hasty
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. band — a music group
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. perch — the fish
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. stem — to come from
  15. rash — a series
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pitch — completely
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. pop — music
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. band — a ring
  24. perch — for a bird

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