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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. band — a ring
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. drill — army training
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. present — there
  8. club — for golf
  9. track — a path
  10. band — a music group
  11. root — the cause
  12. track — a song
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. root — of a plant
  15. present — a gift
  16. mine — for digging
  17. drill — the tool
  18. club — a group
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. track — to keep track
  21. present — the time now
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. root — of a word

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