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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. date — the fruit
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. root — of a plant
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. root — of a word
  11. mate — to breed
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. march — music
  16. board — to get on
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. board — a committee
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rock — a stone
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. root — the cause
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rock — music

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