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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. land — to come down
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bass — the fish
  7. lean — thin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. file — a line of people
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. wake — a trail

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