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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bass — the fish
  4. root — of a plant
  5. scale — in music
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. charge — a price
  8. bass — low music
  9. root — of a word
  10. game — wild animals
  11. hand — help
  12. snap — to click
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. charge — in control
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. game — a match
  18. hand — in cards
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. root — the cause
  22. scale — size or range
  23. charge — electricity
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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