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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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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: saw · court · hand · mine · band · deal · bass · root

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. root — of a plant
  3. band — a ring
  4. court — of a king
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. root — of a word
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. band — a music group
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — for digging
  20. court — for sport
  21. hand — in cards
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. hand — help
  24. root — the cause

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