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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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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: bowl · band · cold · ground · root · toast · squash · track

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. band — a ring
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. squash — the sport
  5. root — of a plant
  6. ground — crushed
  7. band — a music group
  8. cold — an illness
  9. root — of a word
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. ground — a position
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cold — not warm
  19. squash — to crush
  20. track — a path
  21. root — the cause
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. toast — bread

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