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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · bat · arm · bass · staff · root · perch · mug

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. staff — employees
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. root — of a plant
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mug — a face
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. root — of a word
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. perch — the fish
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mug — to rob
  16. cold — not warm
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — the animal
  23. root — the cause
  24. staff — a stick

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