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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. squash — to crush
  4. spring — the season
  5. root — of a plant
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. root — the cause
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. march — the month
  11. spring — of water
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. root — of a word
  14. march — music
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — a permit
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bark — of a tree

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