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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 · cap · root · rest · wind · mine · net · game

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. root — the cause
  3. bass — the fish
  4. game — a match
  5. net — after costs
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. net — for catching
  14. root — of a word
  15. rest — a break
  16. mine — for digging
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cap — of ice
  19. net — in sport
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cap — a hat
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wind — to turn a key

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