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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.

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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: wake · lean · fall · bass · temple · row · root · cell

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. root — the cause
  6. cell — a phone
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. fall — the season
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bass — low music
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. row — a line
  15. wake — a trail
  16. fall — to drop
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fall — to drop
  19. root — of a plant
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. root — of a word
  24. cell — in biology

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