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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. band — a music group
  10. bark — to shout
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. root — of a word
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — after costs
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. tear — from crying
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. root — the cause
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tear — from crying
  22. root — of a plant
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. band — a rubber band

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