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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. lean — to bend
  4. swing — in golf
  5. root — of a word
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. swing — to play on
  10. track — a song
  11. land — ground
  12. bark — to shout
  13. band — a music group
  14. mug — a cup
  15. track — a path
  16. root — of a plant
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mug — to rob
  19. band — a ring
  20. land — a country
  21. root — the cause
  22. lean — thin
  23. swing — music
  24. land — to come down

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