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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — to handle
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. root — the cause
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. file — a document
  11. last — to go on
  12. file — a tool
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. file — a line of people
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. root — of a plant
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. foot — a measure
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. root — of a word
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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