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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. face — to point toward
  3. band — a music group
  4. root — of a word
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. root — of a plant
  7. scale — in music
  8. face — part of the head
  9. present — the time now
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. ground — crushed
  12. present — a gift
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. root — the cause
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. saw — the tool
  20. present — there
  21. ground — the earth
  22. face — to confront
  23. scale — size or range
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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