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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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 music group
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. stem — to come from
  4. season — of the year
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. root — of a plant
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. band — a ring
  10. root — the cause
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. root — of a word
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bear — the animal
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. file — a document
  21. season — in sport
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. snap — to click
  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