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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. content — the amount
  4. swing — in golf
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. root — of a plant
  8. roll — a list
  9. root — the cause
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. root — of a word
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bass — low music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — the fish
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cold — not warm
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. swing — music
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. content — happy
  23. swing — to play on
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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