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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · cell · firm · kid · staff · root

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. firm — a company
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. root — of a word
  5. band — a music group
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. root — the cause
  8. band — a ring
  9. cell — in biology
  10. firm — steady
  11. staff — a stick
  12. kid — child
  13. firm — decided
  14. staff — employees
  15. cell — a phone
  16. root — of a plant
  17. staff — employees
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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