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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 116 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. root — of a word
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. track — a path
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — the season
  11. root — of a plant
  12. spring — a coil
  13. root — the cause
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bear — the animal
  16. band — a ring
  17. saw — the tool
  18. dip — to sink
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. band — a music group
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. dip — a sauce

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