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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. can — to be able to
  4. band — a ring
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mate — to breed
  7. can — a tin
  8. prune — to trim
  9. game — wild animals
  10. root — of a plant
  11. mate — a partner
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. can — a tin
  15. root — of a word
  16. prune — to trim
  17. band — a music group
  18. root — the cause

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