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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. face — to point toward
  3. band — a music group
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. spell — letters
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. band — a ring
  11. face — to confront
  12. land — a country
  13. root — of a word
  14. face — part of the head
  15. root — of a plant
  16. land — to come down
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. spell — magic
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. spell — a short time
  23. root — the cause
  24. land — ground

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