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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. field — a subject
  6. root — of a plant
  7. rule — government
  8. bass — the fish
  9. firm — a company
  10. root — the cause
  11. firm — steady
  12. file — a tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. root — of a word
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — rain
  17. file — a document
  18. rule — a law
  19. file — a line of people
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. shower — to wash
  23. firm — decided
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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