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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bass — low music
  3. root — the cause
  4. cold — not warm
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. club — for dancing
  7. last — finally
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bass — the fish
  12. club — for golf
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. scale — size or range
  15. root — of a plant
  16. fork — in a road
  17. date — the fruit
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. last — final
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. last — to go on
  24. club — a group

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