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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bank — for money
  4. rest — what's left
  5. net — in sport
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bass — low music
  8. root — the cause
  9. tube — a container
  10. net — for catching
  11. bass — the fish
  12. spring — of water
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. spring — the season
  16. net — after costs
  17. bank — for money
  18. rest — a break
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. tube — the underground
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mate — to breed
  24. spring — a coil

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