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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. kid — child
  5. fine — high quality
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bass — the fish
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. dip — to sink
  15. tear — from crying
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stem — to come from
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fine — all right
  24. sharp — exactly

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