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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a word
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a document
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bass — low music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. file — a tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. row — a line
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. row — to paddle
  22. file — a line of people
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. mine — belonging to me

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