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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: stem · saw · straw · kid · rule · bass · rock · tube

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. tube — the underground
  10. rock — a stone
  11. tube — a container
  12. bass — the fish
  13. rule — government
  14. kid — to tease
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bass — low music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. kid — child
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. tube — in a tire

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