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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. bank — of a river
  4. rest — a break
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. root — of a plant
  9. chair — a leader
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bank — for money
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rest — what's left
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bank — for money
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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