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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. root — of a word
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. last — final
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mine — for digging
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. root — the cause
  14. ball — a dance
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. root — of a plant
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. last — to go on
  23. face — part of the head
  24. plane — a tool

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