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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pit — in a race
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. capital — money
  10. hand — help
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pit — a hole
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bass — the fish
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bass — low music
  18. stem — to come from
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. capital — a city
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. staff — employees

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