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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: last · lie · stem · hand · bark · ball · bass · lash

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. bass — low music
  7. hand — help
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. ball — a great time
  19. last — finally
  20. stem — to come from
  21. last — to go on
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. hand — part of the body

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