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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. ground — a position
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. degree — from a university
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stem — to come from
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bass — the fish
  9. tube — a container
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. ground — the earth
  12. content — the amount
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bass — low music
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tube — the underground
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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