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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 116 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: root · tear · band · spring · shower · fan · field · can

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. root — of a word
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. root — of a plant
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. can — to be able to
  12. spring — of water
  13. field — farmland
  14. shower — to wash
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spring — the season
  17. can — a tin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. tear — from crying
  21. can — a tin
  22. shower — rain
  23. root — the cause
  24. tear — to rip

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