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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: root · ball · wind · coach · tear · cold · snap · bass

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bass — the fish
  4. tear — from crying
  5. root — of a plant
  6. ball — a dance
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. snap — to click
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. root — of a word
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bass — low music
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. root — the cause
  22. ball — a great time
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — not warm

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