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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. row — a line
  3. squash — to crush
  4. net — after costs
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. can — a tin
  7. bass — the fish
  8. net — for catching
  9. game — wild animals
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. last — final
  12. can — to be able to
  13. last — to go on
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. can — a tin
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stem — to come from
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — a match
  23. net — in sport
  24. bass — low music

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