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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: last · bass · shower · date · march · chip · fine · root

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bass — low music
  4. fine — all right
  5. shower — rain
  6. root — of a word
  7. march — the month
  8. last — to go on
  9. date — the fruit
  10. march — the month
  11. chip — to eat
  12. shower — to wash
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. last — finally
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bass — the fish
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. last — final
  21. root — the cause
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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