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

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. root — of a plant
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. root — the cause
  9. cue — for pool
  10. game — wild animals
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. content — happy
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. content — the amount
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. march — music
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. march — the month
  24. bark — to shout

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