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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. band — a music group
  4. last — final
  5. band — a ring
  6. last — to go on
  7. content — happy
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. root — of a plant
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. root — the cause
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. content — the amount
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. root — of a word

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