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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mug — a face
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. root — of a word
  5. present — a gift
  6. mug — a cup
  7. file — a tool
  8. rush — hurry
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mug — to rob
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. file — a document
  15. wind — moving air
  16. root — the cause
  17. file — a line of people
  18. present — the time now
  19. band — a ring
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. root — of a plant
  24. present — there

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