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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 120 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. field — for sport
  3. band — a music group
  4. root — the cause
  5. race — a contest
  6. file — a document
  7. root — of a plant
  8. race — humankind
  9. field — a subject
  10. chair — a leader
  11. band — a ring
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. present — the time now
  16. field — farmland
  17. present — a gift
  18. root — of a word
  19. race — the arms race
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. present — there
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. trunk — of a tree

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