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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: bay · root · tear · perch · stem · bat · ground · bass

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bat — the animal
  3. root — of a word
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. tear — from crying
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. root — of a plant
  14. ground — a position
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bass — low music
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. ground — the earth
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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