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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
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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: game · lie · bass · present · rule · row · root · cold

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. row — a line
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bass — low music
  8. rule — government
  9. game — a match
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — of a plant
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. present — the time now
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. present — there
  18. game — wild animals
  19. root — the cause
  20. bass — the fish
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — a law
  24. cold — an illness

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