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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.

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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 a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. root — the cause
  3. march — the month
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. march — music
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. branch — a division
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mate — a partner
  16. root — of a word
  17. march — the month
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pitch — completely
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. branch — 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