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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 116 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. net — in sport
  4. club — for dancing
  5. rest — what's left
  6. root — of a plant
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — after costs
  10. root — the cause
  11. rash — hasty
  12. root — of a word
  13. drill — a practice
  14. net — for catching
  15. drill — the tool
  16. club — a group
  17. bass — the fish
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bass — low music
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. club — for golf
  23. drill — army training
  24. rest — what's left

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