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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. root — the cause
  7. prune — to trim
  8. root — of a plant
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pop — music
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. root — of a word
  17. pop — soda
  18. bass — low music
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. season — in sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bass — the fish
  24. prune — to trim

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