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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: band · straw · mate · racket · field · stock · craft · root

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mate — to breed
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. root — of a word
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. mate — a friend
  12. root — of a plant
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. band — a music group
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mate — a partner
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. root — the cause
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. band — a ring

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