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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. band — a ring
  3. rest — what's left
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bear — the animal
  7. file — a tool
  8. root — the cause
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. root — of a word
  11. cue — a signal
  12. root — of a plant
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cue — for pool
  15. file — a document
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cue — a hint
  21. rest — a break
  22. bear — the animal
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. file — a line of people

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