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

Word bank: rest · bulb · bass · root · wind · band · race · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. root — of a plant
  4. rest — what's left
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rest — a break
  7. wind — moving air
  8. race — a contest
  9. bass — the fish
  10. root — of a word
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. band — a ring
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. game — a match
  16. band — a music group
  17. bass — low music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. race — humankind
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. root — the cause

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