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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. object — to protest
  3. stem — to come from
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. snap — to click
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. object — a thing
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bass — the fish
  11. saw — the tool
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. object — an aim
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. track — to keep track
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bass — the instrument

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