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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. band — a ring
  3. track — a song
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. root — the cause
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wound — an injury
  10. court — of law
  11. track — a path
  12. court — for sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fine — all right
  15. court — of a king
  16. shower — rain
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fine — high quality
  21. wound — an injury
  22. root — of a plant
  23. band — a music group
  24. track — to keep track

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