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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mine — for digging
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. snap — to click
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mark — a trace
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. march — the month
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. capital — a city
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money

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