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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: racket · fork · band · wound · arm · bat · last · root

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. root — the cause
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bat — the animal
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. root — of a word
  13. last — to go on
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. last — finally
  16. band — a music group
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. root — of a plant
  22. last — final
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. arm — a part of something

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