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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. root — the cause
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — for digging
  5. march — music
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. march — the month
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bark — to shout
  11. game — a match
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. root — of a word
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. game — wild animals
  16. snap — to click
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. kick — in football

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