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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. last — to go on
  3. staff — a stick
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mine — for digging
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. last — final
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — finally
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. band — a music group
  15. staff — employees
  16. root — of a word
  17. mark — a trace
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — an illness
  20. root — of a plant
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mark — a grade
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. band — a ring

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