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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: bear · root · band · march · arm · rash · tear · cap

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bear — the animal
  4. band — a music group
  5. rash — hasty
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cap — a lid
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rash — a series
  10. root — of a plant
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. march — the month
  13. root — the cause
  14. cap — a hat
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cap — of ice
  21. band — a ring
  22. tear — from crying
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bear — the animal

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