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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. court — of a king
  3. root — of a plant
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bark — to shout
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. march — music
  11. court — for sport
  12. rash — a series
  13. root — the cause
  14. court — of law
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. march — the month
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. root — of a word
  24. march — the month

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