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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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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: march · mug · bass · saw · ground · dip · wake · root

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. march — music
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. march — the month
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. saw — the tool
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — a face
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mug — to rob
  23. march — the month
  24. wake — a trail

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