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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. game — a match
  4. bass — the fish
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. root — of a word
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. root — the cause
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. bass — low music
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. capital — a city
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rash — a series
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — a kind of play

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