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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. lean — thin
  4. prune — to trim
  5. race — a contest
  6. drill — a practice
  7. race — humankind
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rash — hasty
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. root — the cause
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bass — the fish
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bass — low music
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. rash — a series

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