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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bass — low music
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. root — the cause
  7. bass — the fish
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cap — of ice
  11. last — finally
  12. cap — a hat
  13. root — of a word
  14. cap — a lid
  15. kid — child
  16. rash — hasty
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. root — of a plant
  22. last — final
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. last — to go on

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