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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: staff · wave · season · root · mark · bat · fine · mine

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. season — in sport
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. fine — all right
  10. root — the cause
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. staff — a stick
  13. root — of a word
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fine — high quality
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mark — a grade
  21. season — of the year
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. root — of a plant

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