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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 120 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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bound — certain
  4. root — of a plant
  5. stock — goods
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stock — shares
  13. wound — an injury
  14. band — a music group
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bound — tied together
  17. band — a ring
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. last — final
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. saw — the tool

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