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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: stem · cap · bass · bark · sharp · arm · can · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. stem — to come from
  3. can — a tin
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. can — to be able to
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. can — a tin
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bass — low music
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bass — the fish
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bark — to shout
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cap — a lid
  20. sharp — clever
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cap — of ice

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