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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a word
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. present — the time now
  9. file — a tool
  10. present — there
  11. last — to go on
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. last — finally
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. root — of a plant
  17. file — a line of people
  18. club — for dancing
  19. file — a document
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. band — a music group
  22. last — final
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. racket — for tennis

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