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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: fork · stem · tear · chip · wake · bass · march · mate

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — music
  8. mate — a partner
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bass — the fish
  13. march — the month
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bass — low music
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. stem — to come from
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bass — the instrument

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