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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. spring — the season
  3. capital — money
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. root — of a plant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. root — of a word
  10. band — a music group
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. capital — a city
  14. track — a song
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spring — a coil
  17. prune — to trim
  18. track — to keep track
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spring — of water
  21. band — a ring
  22. prune — to trim
  23. root — the cause
  24. wave — with your hand

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