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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. current — electric
  6. net — after costs
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. current — of water
  11. bass — low music
  12. ground — a position
  13. net — in sport
  14. current — happening now
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. ground — crushed
  22. stem — to come from
  23. net — for catching
  24. stem — a stem cell

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