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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: staff · season · bass · court · root · shower · mine · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. root — the cause
  3. court — of a king
  4. staff — a stick
  5. court — for sport
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. court — of law
  12. shower — rain
  13. staff — employees
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. root — of a word
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. root — of a plant
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bass — the fish
  22. staff — employees
  23. cold — an illness
  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