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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. board — to get on
  4. stem — to come from
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bass — low music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rock — music
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. land — ground
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rock — a stone
  17. land — a country
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. land — to come down
  23. board — a committee
  24. rock — to move gently

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