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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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Word bank
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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: stick · root · field · band · cap · straw · mouse · staff

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. staff — employees
  4. field — for sport
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. root — of a word
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. field — farmland
  16. root — the cause
  17. staff — a stick
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. field — a subject
  20. staff — employees
  21. band — a music group
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. root — of a plant
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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