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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bass — low music
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. root — the cause
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. stem — to come from
  7. root — of a word
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. shower — rain
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cell — in biology
  12. chest — a box
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cell — a phone
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a ring
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. band — a music group
  24. bass — the instrument

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