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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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468
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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. season — of the year
  6. perch — the fish
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bass — the fish
  10. season — in sport
  11. bass — low music
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. dip — to sink
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. root — the cause
  18. wind — moving air
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wave — of the sea

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