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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. chair — a leader
  3. root — of a plant
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pop — soda
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. band — a music group
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pop — music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bear — the animal
  19. root — of a word
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. root — the cause
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fan — a supporter

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