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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: wake · band · craft · prune · plane · cold · nail · root

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. band — a ring
  3. craft — boats
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. root — of a word
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. prune — to trim
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. band — a music group
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cold — an illness
  16. plane — a tool
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. craft — a skill
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. craft — a handicraft

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