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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. root — of a word
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. scale — in music
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. scale — size or range
  7. craft — boats
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stem — to come from
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. craft — a skill
  13. root — the cause
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. root — of a plant
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bass — the fish
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. tear — from crying
  24. nail — for a hammer

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