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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. firm — decided
  3. court — for sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. firm — steady
  8. court — of a king
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. root — the cause
  11. march — music
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. pop — to visit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — of law
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. firm — a company
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — 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