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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. roll — a list
  4. band — a ring
  5. kid — child
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rest — a break
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stem — to come from
  13. band — a music group
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. kid — to tease
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. vault — a safe
  22. rest — what's left
  23. roll — a cake
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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