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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pop — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — a match
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. pop — to visit
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pop — soda
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bass — the fish
  15. stem — to come from
  16. branch — a division
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mug — to rob
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bass — low music
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wind — moving air

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