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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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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: ground · chest · sharp · bass · fan · row · stem · leaves

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. ground — crushed
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bass — the fish
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chest — a box
  19. sharp — clever
  20. chest — of your body
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bass — low music
  24. chest — of your body

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