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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. mine — for digging
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. swing — music
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. chair — a leader

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