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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. band — a music group
  4. chip — to eat
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. band — a ring
  8. field — farmland
  9. date — the fruit
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. march — music
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chip — for betting
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. bark — to shout
  19. root — the cause
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. field — a subject
  22. swing — in golf
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. field — for sport

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