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

Word bank: rest · cell · race · trunk · bass · present

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. present — a gift
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bass — the fish
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rest — what's left
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cell — a phone
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rest — a break
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there

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