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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. last — finally
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. drill — a practice
  5. root — of a word
  6. drill — the tool
  7. root — the cause
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. band — a music group
  10. dip — to sink
  11. spell — magic
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. root — of a plant
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. drill — army training
  17. last — final
  18. spell — letters
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. last — to go on
  21. snap — to click
  22. march — the month
  23. band — a ring
  24. spell — a short time

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