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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. band — a ring
  3. tube — a container
  4. root — of a plant
  5. fall — to drop
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tube — the underground
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. band — a music group
  13. mine — for digging
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a word
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. capital — a city
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. capital — money
  23. fall — the season
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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