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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: net · last · kid · bass · wake · mouse · pitcher · stem

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. last — final
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kid — child
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. last — finally
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. last — to go on
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wake — a trail
  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