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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: toast · root · land · chest · net · last · band · date

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. last — final
  5. date — the fruit
  6. net — after costs
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. land — to come down
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. last — to go on
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. root — of a word
  13. chest — a box
  14. root — the cause
  15. chest — of your body
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. toast — bread
  18. land — a country
  19. root — of a plant
  20. net — for catching
  21. last — finally
  22. land — ground
  23. band — a music group
  24. chest — of your body

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