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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. current — electric
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — decided
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pop — soda
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. spring — the season
  18. firm — a company
  19. wax — to grow
  20. current — happening now
  21. pop — music
  22. firm — steady
  23. pop — to visit
  24. current — of water

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