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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bass — low music
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rash — hasty
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spring — of water
  18. rash — a series
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spring — the season
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. stem — of a plant

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