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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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468
Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bass — low music
  3. kid — child
  4. stem — to come from
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. craft — boats
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bass — the fish
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bank — for money
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. shower — rain
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — to wash

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