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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pop — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mark — a trace
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. can — a tin
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bass — low music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pop — soda
  24. bass — the fish

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