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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. press — to push
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. tube — a container
  5. present — a gift
  6. club — for golf
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. club — for dancing
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. saw — the tool
  11. club — a group
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. press — a publisher
  16. present — there
  17. root — the cause
  18. band — a music group
  19. saw — the tool
  20. press — newspapers
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. tube — the underground
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. present — the time now

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