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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: file · land · pit · cap · band · root · rest · clip

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. rest — what's left
  3. land — ground
  4. rest — a break
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — to cut
  7. land — a country
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rest — what's left
  11. root — of a word
  12. pit — in a race
  13. root — the cause
  14. file — a line of people
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — to come down
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. clip — a video
  21. band — a music group
  22. file — a tool
  23. cap — a hat
  24. file — a document

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