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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. net — for catching
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. file — a line of people
  8. can — a tin
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — the cause
  11. rush — hurry
  12. file — a tool
  13. root — of a word
  14. can — a tin
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fine — all right
  17. net — in sport
  18. fine — high quality
  19. can — to be able to
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. file — a document
  24. net — after costs

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