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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. object — to protest
  3. bass — the fish
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. object — an aim
  6. bass — low music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. stem — to come from
  9. scale — in music
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. lie — to recline
  14. sharp — clever
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. object — a thing
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bark — to shout
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. lie — an untruth
  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