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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — a face
  4. march — music
  5. board — to get on
  6. row — a line
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. board — a committee
  13. mug — to rob
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. land — a country
  17. cell — a phone
  18. march — the month
  19. root — of a plant
  20. land — ground
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cell — in biology
  23. root — the cause
  24. land — to come down

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