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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a plant
  5. game — a match
  6. file — a line of people
  7. game — wild animals
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. swing — in golf
  13. land — a country
  14. file — a tool
  15. rush — hurry
  16. swing — music
  17. root — of a word
  18. land — to come down
  19. file — a document
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. land — ground

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