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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. stem — to come from
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bass — low music
  9. stock — shares
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. deal — to handle
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cell — in biology
  15. staff — employees
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cell — a phone
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. stock — goods
  20. staff — employees
  21. bass — the fish
  22. staff — a stick
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — the Cold War

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