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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. root — the cause
  3. snap — to click
  4. track — a path
  5. fine — all right
  6. last — final
  7. root — of a word
  8. band — a music group
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. last — to go on
  12. track — a song
  13. degree — an amount
  14. track — to keep track
  15. degree — temperature
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rush — hurry
  18. last — finally
  19. fine — high quality
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. degree — from a university
  23. root — of a plant
  24. band — a ring

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