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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: bass · bat · stem · squash · pop · last · bark · board

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bass — the fish
  4. squash — to crush
  5. last — to go on
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pop — music
  8. board — a committee
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pop — soda
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. last — finally
  19. bass — low music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. board — to get on
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stem — to come from
  24. pop — to visit

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