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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. clip — a video
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bass — low music
  9. root — the cause
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. field — a subject
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. field — for sport
  16. root — of a word
  17. bark — to shout
  18. root — of a plant
  19. rock — a stone
  20. field — farmland
  21. clip — to cut
  22. roll — a list
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. rock — to move gently

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