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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bound — certain
  3. spring — of water
  4. last — final
  5. court — of law
  6. root — of a word
  7. court — of a king
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. court — for sport
  12. bound — obliged
  13. spring — a coil
  14. band — a ring
  15. bound — tied together
  16. spring — the season
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — finally
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. root — of a plant
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. last — to go on
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. root — the cause

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