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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 120 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. bulb — for light
  4. root — of a plant
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. root — of a word
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. root — the cause

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