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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: drill · pop · wind · ball · root · present · hand · bass

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. root — of a word
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pop — music
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. root — the cause
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bass — the fish
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. present — there
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bass — low music
  17. present — the time now
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. present — a gift
  22. pop — soda
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — to visit

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