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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. root — the cause
  3. ball — a great time
  4. drill — a practice
  5. tube — the underground
  6. face — to confront
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bass — low music
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. root — of a plant
  11. shower — to wash
  12. tube — a container
  13. net — after costs
  14. face — part of the head
  15. shower — rain
  16. bass — the fish
  17. root — of a word
  18. drill — the tool
  19. net — for catching
  20. ball — a dance
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. drill — army training
  23. face — to point toward
  24. net — in sport

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