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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. root — the cause
  3. field — farmland
  4. wound — an injury
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — a price
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. drill — a practice
  10. root — of a word
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mate — a friend
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. field — for sport
  23. charge — in control
  24. field — a subject

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