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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 116 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. root — of a word
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — to protest
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cold — an illness
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. root — the cause
  11. object — a thing
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bass — low music
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — not warm
  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