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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: cold · root · clip · tear · bass · can · wake · coach

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. root — the cause
  6. can — a tin
  7. clip — to cut
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — of a plant
  10. can — a tin
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bass — the fish
  13. can — to be able to
  14. clip — a video
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bass — low music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wake — a trail
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — the Cold War

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