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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stem — to come from
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. press — to push
  11. bass — the fish
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bass — low music
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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