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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
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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: land · spring · root · temple · cold · track · net · bass

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cold — an illness
  3. land — ground
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. spring — of water
  6. bass — low music
  7. track — a path
  8. land — a country
  9. spring — the season
  10. root — of a plant
  11. net — after costs
  12. cold — not warm
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. root — the cause
  15. net — for catching
  16. bass — the fish
  17. net — in sport
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. land — to come down
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. root — of a word
  22. track — to keep track
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bass — the instrument

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