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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: spell · bark · bass · pitcher · wake · file · stem · mug

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bass — low music
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. file — a tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a document
  9. spell — letters
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mug — a face
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wake — a trail

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