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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. tear — from crying
  4. root — the cause
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — a container
  7. last — to go on
  8. root — of a plant
  9. drill — the tool
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. last — final
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — to rip
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. band — a ring
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. band — a music group
  20. drill — army training
  21. root — of a word
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — finally

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