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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. band — a ring
  3. hand — in cards
  4. root — the cause
  5. march — music
  6. spring — of water
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. board — a committee
  9. march — the month
  10. root — of a word
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. board — to get on
  13. band — a music group
  14. firm — decided
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. hand — help
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. firm — steady
  21. march — the month
  22. root — of a plant
  23. spring — the season
  24. cell — in biology

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