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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 120 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: bass · root · capital · game · drill · spell · track · straw

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. root — of a word
  3. bass — the fish
  4. game — wild animals
  5. track — a song
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. track — a path
  11. game — a match
  12. track — to keep track
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bass — low music
  15. drill — army training
  16. spell — letters
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. spell — magic
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. root — the cause
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. root — of a plant

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