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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pop — to visit
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. stock — goods
  13. bass — the fish
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. pop — soda
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pop — music
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bass — low music

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