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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fall — the season
  3. root — of a plant
  4. press — to push
  5. fall — to drop
  6. root — of a word
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — a box
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fall — to drop
  11. march — the month
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. root — the cause
  23. wind — moving air
  24. press — a publisher

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