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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. root — of a plant
  6. kick — in football
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. capital — money
  17. root — of a word
  18. tear — from crying
  19. root — the cause
  20. branch — a division
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. tear — to rip
  23. band — a ring
  24. branch — of a bank

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