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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. craft — a skill
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. root — of a word
  6. object — to protest
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. band — a ring
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. face — to point toward
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bore — to drill
  15. root — the cause
  16. bore — to tire
  17. band — a music group
  18. face — to confront
  19. object — a thing
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. object — an aim
  22. face — part of the head
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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