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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bass — low music
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. capital — money
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. stem — to come from
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spring — the season
  15. capital — a city
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. spring — of water
  19. fork — in a road
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. spring — a coil
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fork — to eat with

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