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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. staff — a stick
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. staff — employees
  5. root — of a word
  6. kid — child
  7. spell — letters
  8. capital — a city
  9. kid — to tease
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. capital — money
  13. root — the cause
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. band — a music group
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spell — magic
  19. root — of a plant
  20. spell — a short time
  21. band — a ring
  22. staff — employees
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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