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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bass — the fish
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. degree — an amount
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bulb — for light
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bulb — for light
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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