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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: bass · racket · cold · row · mouse · stem · wave · craft

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bass — low music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. row — to paddle
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. row — a line
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. craft — a skill
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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