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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.

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: bass · bat · wave · fall · root · chip · rush · spring

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bass — low music
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. root — of a plant
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. root — of a word
  11. bass — the fish
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. fall — the season
  18. root — the cause
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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