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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. last — finally
  5. degree — an amount
  6. land — a country
  7. bass — low music
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bass — the fish
  10. land — to come down
  11. degree — from a university
  12. last — to go on
  13. land — ground
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. last — final
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. foot — a measure
  24. degree — temperature

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