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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. track — a path
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bass — the fish
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. kid — child
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. deal — to handle
  12. track — a song
  13. pound — a weight
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. track — to keep track
  18. hand — help
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mark — a trace
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. deal — an agreement

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