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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: land · pitcher · stem · dip · firm · march · trunk · bass

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. firm — steady
  2. bass — low music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. firm — a company
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. march — the month
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. land — a country
  14. stem — to come from
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. land — to come down
  17. dip — to sink
  18. land — ground
  19. bass — the fish
  20. firm — decided
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  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