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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: ball · root · bass · firm · cold · object · shower · lean

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ball — a dance
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. shower — rain
  8. object — an aim
  9. firm — a company
  10. lean — thin
  11. object — to protest
  12. firm — decided
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. firm — steady
  16. object — a thing
  17. bass — low music
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. root — the cause
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ball — a great time
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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