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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: can · field · tube · drill · band · arm · cold · root

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cold — an illness
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. drill — army training
  9. band — a music group
  10. tube — a container
  11. drill — the tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. can — to be able to
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. drill — a practice
  17. field — farmland
  18. band — a ring
  19. root — of a plant
  20. field — for sport
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. root — of a word
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. field — a subject

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