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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. date — the fruit
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — rain
  6. bass — low music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. root — of a word
  9. shower — to wash
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bat — the animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. board — to get on
  14. root — of a plant
  15. last — final
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. root — the cause
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. board — a committee
  21. branch — a division
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. branch — of a tree

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