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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. bass — the fish
  5. band — a music group
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mate — a partner
  9. root — the cause
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. root — of a word
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mate — to breed
  14. dip — to sink
  15. band — a ring
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bass — low music
  18. ground — the earth
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. root — of a plant
  24. racket — for tennis

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