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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 116 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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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: bowl · staff · pound · bass · band · ruler · root · cold

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bass — low music
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. root — the cause
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bass — the fish
  15. staff — a stick
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. root — of a plant
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. root — of a word
  24. band — a ring

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