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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. root — of a word
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. root — of a plant
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wound — an injury
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pound — a weight
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bore — to drill
  15. stem — to come from
  16. degree — from a university
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — the cause
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bass — low music
  22. saw — the tool
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pound — for dogs

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