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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. shower — to wash
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. band — a music group
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. band — a ring
  17. bass — low music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. shower — rain
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bass — the fish
  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