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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. root — the cause
  3. band — a music group
  4. ground — the earth
  5. band — a ring
  6. track — a song
  7. root — of a word
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. track — to keep track
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. ground — a position
  16. wake — a trail
  17. stand — to bear
  18. hand — in cards
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. track — a path
  21. ground — crushed
  22. root — of a plant
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — part of the body

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