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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. row — a line
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — the season
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — a permit
  7. rock — music
  8. spring — a coil
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. root — of a plant
  13. march — music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. root — the cause
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. root — of a word
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spring — of water
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. sharp — clever
  24. tear — from crying

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