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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: land · band · plane · bass · patient · content · perch · root

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. content — happy
  8. land — to come down
  9. root — the cause
  10. land — ground
  11. band — a ring
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bass — the fish
  16. land — a country
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bass — low music
  20. root — of a word
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. root — of a plant
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. plane — in geometry

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