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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · fine · ruler · perch · bass · sharp · ball · root

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. root — the cause
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. fine — all right
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bass — low music
  12. root — of a word
  13. ball — a dance
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. root — of a plant
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. sharp — clever
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bass — the fish
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. ball — a great time

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