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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. field — a subject
  4. rush — hurry
  5. cell — a phone
  6. field — farmland
  7. tube — a container
  8. squash — to crush
  9. band — a music group
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cell — in biology
  18. band — a ring
  19. squash — the sport
  20. field — for sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. root — of a word
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rush — a thrill

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