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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stem — to come from
  3. land — a country
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bound — tied together
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bound — certain
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bass — the fish
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bass — low music
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bat — for baseball

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