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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mark · kid · fall · bass · bark · stem

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bass — low music
  7. kid — child
  8. mark — a grade
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bass — the fish
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fall — the season
  18. bark — to shout

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