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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rock — music
  8. bulb — for light
  9. net — for catching
  10. ground — a position
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rock — a stone
  14. ground — crushed
  15. spring — a coil
  16. root — the cause
  17. net — in sport
  18. spring — the season
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. net — after costs
  22. root — of a plant
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spring — of water

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