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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 124 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: band · craft · field · bass · fall · root · ball · spring

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fall — the season
  3. bass — low music
  4. field — a subject
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. bass — the fish
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — boats
  15. field — for sport
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. field — farmland
  20. fall — to drop
  21. spring — the season
  22. root — of a plant
  23. spring — of water
  24. fall — to drop

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