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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: ball · race · patient · rest · rash · swing · root · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. root — of a word
  3. rash — hasty
  4. swing — in golf
  5. root — the cause
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. band — a ring
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. race — a contest
  13. ball — a dance
  14. root — of a plant
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ball — a great time
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. swing — music
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. swing — to play on
  24. rest — what's left

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