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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bank — for money
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bank — for money
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pitch — completely
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spring — a coil
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. kid — child
  12. root — of a word
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. kid — to tease
  18. spring — of water
  19. root — the cause
  20. band — a ring
  21. bank — of a river
  22. wake — a trail
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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