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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · pass · bark · squash · tear · bass · wound · stem

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. last — finally
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bass — low music
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bass — the fish
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. last — final
  22. squash — the sport
  23. last — to go on
  24. stem — of a plant

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