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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: bark · squash · saw · jam · stem · bat · bass · hide

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. squash — to crush
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bass — the fish
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bark — to shout
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bat — the animal
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bass — low music
  21. stem — to come from
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. jam — a tight spot

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