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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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 rubber band
  2. kid — child
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. root — of a plant
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. rest — what's left
  7. row — a line
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. root — of a word
  11. kid — to tease
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. row — to paddle
  19. root — the cause
  20. stem — to come from
  21. band — a ring
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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