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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mate — a friend
  4. root — the cause
  5. last — final
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bass — low music
  8. root — of a plant
  9. drill — army training
  10. last — to go on
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spring — of water
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. spring — a coil
  15. last — finally
  16. spring — the season
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bass — the fish
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. root — of a word
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. racket — a loud noise

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