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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: racket · march · band · cold · field · ruler · trunk · root

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. root — of a word
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a plant
  6. field — a subject
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. band — a music group
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. march — music
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. field — farmland
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. field — for sport
  22. march — the month
  23. band — a ring
  24. march — the month

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