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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rock — music
  3. bank — for money
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. race — humankind
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. spell — letters
  11. race — a contest
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bank — of a river
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bank — for money
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. race — the arms race

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