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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. face — to confront
  3. swing — in golf
  4. root — of a word
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — to point toward
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wake — a trail
  17. mark — a trace
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mark — a grade
  21. face — part of the head
  22. swing — music
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. band — a music group

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