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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rock — music
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — letters
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. root — of a plant
  7. fine — high quality
  8. squash — the sport
  9. spell — magic
  10. march — music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — a short time
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chip — for betting
  15. root — of a word
  16. squash — to crush
  17. chip — to eat
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. fine — all right
  20. kid — child
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. march — the month
  23. root — the cause
  24. chip — in a computer

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