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

Word bank: wind · bank · perch · saw · root · toast · band · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. toast — bread
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. band — a ring
  6. root — of a word
  7. bank — of a river
  8. root — of a plant
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. last — finally
  12. bank — for money
  13. perch — the fish
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wind — moving air
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bank — for money
  21. last — to go on
  22. root — the cause
  23. band — a music group
  24. perch — for a bird

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