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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. root — the cause
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. band — a ring
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. root — of a word
  11. clip — to cut
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. foot — a measure
  14. band — a music group
  15. last — to go on
  16. root — of a plant
  17. kick — in football
  18. last — final
  19. shower — rain
  20. last — finally
  21. clip — a video
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. shower — to wash
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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