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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. root — of a plant
  4. plane — a tool
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. game — a match
  7. root — of a word
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stock — goods
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fork — in a road
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. band — a music group
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. root — the cause
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. stock — shares
  20. bear — the animal
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. band — a rubber band

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