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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. root — the cause
  4. pass — a permit
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. pop — soda
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. last — finally
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. root — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. band — a ring
  14. root — of a word
  15. pop — to visit
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. last — to go on
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pop — music
  24. band — a music group

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