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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bass — low music
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stem — to come from
  11. content — happy
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ground — the earth
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wound — an injury

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