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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: net · bass · shower · root · stand · wake · mine · pitch

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. net — for catching
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. stand — to bear
  10. pitch — completely
  11. root — the cause
  12. net — in sport
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. root — of a word
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. root — of a plant
  20. net — after costs
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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