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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bear — the animal
  4. root — of a word
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bear — the animal
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. mate — a friend
  10. fall — to drop
  11. drill — army training
  12. fall — the season
  13. band — a ring
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. band — a music group
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mate — a partner
  22. drill — the tool
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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