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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. root — of a plant
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. shower — rain
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. root — the cause
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cell — in biology
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. march — music
  15. root — of a word
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cell — a phone
  21. deal — to handle
  22. prune — to trim
  23. march — the month
  24. last — to go on

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