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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. plane — a tool
  3. swing — to play on
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — the tool
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bass — the fish
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — government
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. rule — a law
  19. swing — music
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. swing — in golf

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