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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stem — to come from
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. hand — help
  10. band — a music group
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. toast — bread
  14. root — the cause
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. clip — for paper
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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