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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. last — finally
  3. mark — a trace
  4. root — of a plant
  5. pitch — completely
  6. last — final
  7. bass — low music
  8. band — a music group
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. content — the amount
  13. mate — to breed
  14. last — to go on
  15. root — of a word
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mate — a friend
  19. band — a ring
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mark — a grade
  24. root — the cause

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