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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: land · rest · band · root · swing · tube · wax · nail

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. band — a music group
  4. land — a country
  5. wax — to grow
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rest — what's left
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. land — to come down
  11. band — a ring
  12. rest — a break
  13. tube — a container
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rest — what's left
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. land — ground
  22. swing — to play on
  23. tube — the underground
  24. root — the cause

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