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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 116 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: court · root · deal · hand · cold · face · bass · ground

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. ground — crushed
  4. court — of law
  5. ground — a position
  6. cold — an illness
  7. court — of a king
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bass — low music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. ground — the earth
  13. hand — in cards
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. court — for sport
  17. face — to confront
  18. hand — help
  19. deal — to handle
  20. root — the cause
  21. face — to point toward
  22. root — of a word
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bass — the fish

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