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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: tear · band · fan · bear · wake · club · patient · root

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. band — a ring
  3. tear — from crying
  4. root — the cause
  5. tear — from crying
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. root — of a plant
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. club — for dancing
  14. root — of a word
  15. bear — the animal
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wake — a trail
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. band — a music group
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bear — the animal

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