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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. root — of a word
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bass — the fish
  6. game — a match
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — of a plant
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cell — in biology
  16. root — the cause
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. cell — a phone
  19. plane — a tool
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — of the sea

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