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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wake — a trail
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. spring — of water
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. spring — a coil
  15. content — happy
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bass — low music
  18. spring — the season
  19. cue — a signal
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. content — videos and posts

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