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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wound — an injury
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. capital — money
  11. degree — from a university
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bass — the fish
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. shower — to wash
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bass — low music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — rain
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. capital — a city
  24. nail — for a hammer

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