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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. mug — a cup
  3. pop — soda
  4. root — the cause
  5. rash — a series
  6. band — a ring
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pop — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. rash — hasty
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. root — of a word
  14. drill — the tool
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mug — a face
  17. drill — army training
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. file — a line of people
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. file — a document
  22. mug — to rob
  23. root — of a plant
  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