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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. root — of a word
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fine — all right
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. root — the cause
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. deal — to handle
  10. fine — high quality
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. march — the month
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. field — farmland
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. root — of a plant
  20. march — music
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. march — the month
  24. sharp — clever

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