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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. staff — a stick
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. staff — employees
  7. present — there
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. dip — to sink
  10. ground — crushed
  11. present — the time now
  12. branch — a division
  13. root — of a plant
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. root — of a word
  18. ground — a position
  19. band — a music group
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. band — a ring
  22. present — a gift
  23. root — the cause
  24. ground — the earth

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