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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. drill — a practice
  9. pop — soda
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bass — the fish
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bound — certain
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bass — low music
  22. root — the cause
  23. racket — for tennis
  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