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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: clip · saw · bass · object · root · wake · cold · pitcher

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — the cause
  6. cold — not warm
  7. saw — the tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — an aim
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. object — to protest
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. clip — a video
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. clip — to cut
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pitcher — a jug

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