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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mate — a partner
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bass — low music
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. cap — a hat
  14. saw — the tool
  15. root — of a word
  16. land — a country
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cap — of ice
  19. mate — a friend
  20. root — the cause
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bass — the fish

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