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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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. bass — the fish
  2. lie — to recline
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bass — low music
  5. shower — rain
  6. rash — hasty
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mate — a partner
  12. root — the cause
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. root — of a plant
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. roll — a cake
  19. spring — of water
  20. rash — a series
  21. root — of a word
  22. mate — to breed
  23. roll — a list
  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