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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. band — a music group
  9. shower — to wash
  10. deal — to handle
  11. root — of a plant
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bass — low music
  15. hand — help
  16. rule — a law
  17. hand — in cards
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. bass — the fish
  22. root — the cause
  23. bass — the instrument
  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