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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. race — humankind
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. band — a ring
  6. race — a contest
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a plant
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. branch — a division
  13. race — the arms race
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wound — an injury
  18. prune — to trim
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. root — of a word
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wound — an injury
  23. band — a music group
  24. spring — the season

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