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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. scale — size or range
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. stem — to come from
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. scale — in music
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. toast — bread
  14. chest — a box
  15. march — music
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chest — of your body
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bass — low music
  23. march — the month
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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