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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · mate · land · spring · bass · track · root · kid

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — of a plant
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. land — to come down
  6. bass — low music
  7. kid — to tease
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. land — ground
  12. kid — child
  13. track — a path
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. track — a song
  16. mate — a partner
  17. root — the cause
  18. mate — a friend
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. track — to keep track
  22. land — a country
  23. bass — the fish
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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