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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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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: rock · court · board · fall · net · bass · stem · mark

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. rock — music
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. board — to get on
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. court — for sport
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mark — a trace
  15. rock — a stone
  16. net — for catching
  17. board — a committee
  18. fall — to drop
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mark — a grade
  21. court — of law
  22. fall — the season
  23. court — of a king
  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