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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: wake · hand · band · rule · toast · root · prune · cabinet

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. hand — in cards
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. root — the cause
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. band — a ring
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. hand — help
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rule — a law
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. root — of a word
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wake — a trail
  18. band — a music group
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. root — of a plant
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rule — government

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