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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 120 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: fine · pop · hide · bat · stem · bass · sharp · land

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bass — the fish
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fine — all right
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. fine — high quality
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. land — to come down
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pop — to visit
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bass — low music
  20. pop — music
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. hide — animal skin

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