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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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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. object — a thing
  6. bass — low music
  7. shower — to wash
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. object — to protest
  10. spell — letters
  11. pound — a weight
  12. capital — a city
  13. object — an aim
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spell — a short time
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. shower — rain
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. capital — money
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. spell — magic
  24. bass — the fish

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