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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.

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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: root · rest · land · cell · race · wake · band · object

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. band — a music group
  3. object — a thing
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. band — a ring
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. object — an aim
  12. cell — in biology
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. object — to protest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. rest — what's left
  21. root — the cause
  22. land — ground
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cell — a phone

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