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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. root — of a plant
  6. band — a music group
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rest — what's left
  10. drill — a practice
  11. kick — in football
  12. band — a ring
  13. drill — the tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rest — a break
  16. root — the cause
  17. file — a tool
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. file — a document
  23. content — happy
  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