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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. march — music
  4. root — of a word
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bass — the fish
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bass — low music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. march — the month
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. march — the month
  20. fall — the season
  21. root — the cause
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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