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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bass — low music
  4. root — of a word
  5. spring — of water
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. ground — a position
  10. bass — the fish
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rush — hurry
  13. root — of a plant
  14. charge — a price
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. shower — rain
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — electricity
  22. spring — the season
  23. root — the cause
  24. bass — the instrument

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