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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 124 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — rain
  7. craft — a skill
  8. shower — to wash
  9. kick — in football
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. rash — a series
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bass — the fish
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. degree — from a university
  22. craft — boats
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. degree — temperature

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