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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · spring · plane · tear · degree · press · root · rush

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. root — of a plant
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. press — to push
  7. spring — the season
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. band — a music group
  10. press — a publisher
  11. degree — temperature
  12. press — newspapers
  13. band — a ring
  14. spring — of water
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. root — of a word
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. degree — from a university
  19. root — the cause
  20. tear — to rip
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. spring — a coil
  24. degree — an amount

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