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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. track — a path
  5. board — to get on
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. board — a committee
  10. bark — to shout
  11. field — a subject
  12. band — a ring
  13. field — for sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rush — hurry
  16. band — a music group
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. track — a song
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. field — farmland
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wave — of the sea

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