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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bass — low music
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bass — the fish
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mug — to rob
  14. tube — a container
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. mug — a cup
  22. tube — the underground
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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