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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. band — a ring
  6. chest — a box
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pound — a weight
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — a subject
  14. root — of a plant
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. root — of a word
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mine — for digging
  20. root — the cause
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mine — belonging to me

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