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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.

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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: fork · fall · root · present · bowl · hand · bass · race

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. race — a contest
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fall — the season
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. root — the cause
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — the time now
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. fork — in a road
  16. root — of a word
  17. present — there
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bass — the fish
  21. root — of a plant
  22. race — humankind
  23. present — a gift
  24. bass — low music

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