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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. chip — to eat
  5. stem — to come from
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. last — final
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bass — low music
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chip — for betting
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. squash — the sport

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