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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: straw · drill · bass · track · field · bear · root · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. field — a subject
  7. scale — in music
  8. root — the cause
  9. drill — a practice
  10. track — to keep track
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. field — for sport
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bear — the animal
  16. track — a song
  17. field — farmland
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bear — the animal
  20. drill — the tool
  21. track — a path
  22. root — of a word
  23. drill — army training
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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