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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: bark · bass · board · content · mouse · stem · court · pop

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pop — music
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pop — soda
  9. court — of law
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. content — the amount
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. content — happy
  16. court — for sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. board — a committee
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. court — of a king
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bark — to shout
  23. board — to get on
  24. stem — a stem cell

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