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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mine — for digging
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bulb — for light
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. snap — to click
  10. root — the cause
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. root — of a plant
  13. track — a song
  14. bulb — for light
  15. root — of a word
  16. track — a path
  17. last — finally
  18. bass — the fish
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. track — to keep track
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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