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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a ring
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. band — a music group
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cue — for pool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. squash — the sport
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. shower — rain
  18. chest — a box
  19. bass — low music
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. squash — to crush

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