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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. root — the cause
  3. shower — to wash
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. branch — a division
  10. last — finally
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. last — to go on
  16. clip — a video
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. clip — to cut
  20. last — final
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. band — a music group
  24. shower — rain

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