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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. current — electric
  10. shower — rain
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bass — low music
  14. capital — a city
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — a trail
  17. stem — to come from
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — of water
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. capital — money
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bass — the fish

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