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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. track — a path
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. face — to confront
  8. track — a song
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bass — low music
  12. face — to point toward
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bass — the fish
  17. ground — crushed
  18. root — of a plant
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. root — of a word
  21. face — part of the head
  22. root — the cause
  23. track — to keep track
  24. ball — a great time

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