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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bass — the fish
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. spell — magic
  8. foot — a measure
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. spell — a short time
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. can — a tin
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spell — letters
  23. can — to be able to
  24. branch — a division

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