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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: row · perch · rash · cell · cold · root · toast · band

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — not warm
  8. toast — bread
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. root — the cause
  12. rash — a series
  13. perch — the fish
  14. row — a line
  15. root — of a word
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cell — in biology
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cell — a phone
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cold — an illness

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