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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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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. root — of a plant
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. date — the fruit
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. band — a ring
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. chest — of your body
  14. vault — a safe
  15. field — for sport
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. chest — of your body
  18. root — of a word
  19. wound — an injury
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. root — the cause
  23. chest — a box
  24. wound — an injury

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