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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. saw — the tool
  3. band — a ring
  4. mate — a friend
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mate — a partner
  7. snap — to click
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. last — to go on
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. root — of a plant
  14. band — a music group
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. last — final
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. club — a group
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mate — to breed
  22. club — for golf
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. stem — to come from

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