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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. ground — a position
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — after costs
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wind — moving air
  9. root — of a word
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. row — a line
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. band — a music group
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bass — low music
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. root — the cause
  21. band — a ring
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. net — for catching
  24. bass — the fish

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