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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wound — an injury
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — in cards
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. suit — to fit
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bass — low music
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. stem — to come from
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  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