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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. band — a music group
  3. spell — letters
  4. spring — of water
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a plant
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. spell — magic
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. root — of a word
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. band — a ring
  16. spring — the season
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — to breed
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. spell — a short time

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