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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. board — to get on
  3. lean — thin
  4. sharp — clever
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. lean — to bend
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bass — the fish
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stem — to come from
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. sharp — exactly

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