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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. ground — a position
  3. swing — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. last — to go on
  6. ground — crushed
  7. swing — to play on
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — of a plant
  10. band — a ring
  11. fall — to drop
  12. swing — in golf
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. ground — the earth
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. root — the cause
  18. fall — the season

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