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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: season · hand · land · calf · root · track · spell · bass

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. land — ground
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bass — low music
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. track — a path
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. land — a country
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. track — a song
  18. hand — in cards
  19. root — the cause
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spell — letters
  22. land — to come down
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

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