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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. root — of a plant
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bass — low music
  14. fall — the season
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. root — the cause
  18. field — for sport
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. fall — to drop
  24. root — of a word

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