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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: club · kid · roll · land · root · dip · bass · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. kid — child
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. land — to come down
  7. club — a group
  8. root — the cause
  9. club — for dancing
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bass — low music
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. dip — to sink
  15. root — of a plant
  16. land — ground
  17. root — of a word
  18. bass — the fish
  19. hand — in cards
  20. club — for golf
  21. land — a country
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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