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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. root — of a plant
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. sharp — clever
  13. pound — a weight
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bass — low music
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. root — of a word
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — the cause
  24. wind — moving air

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