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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. snap — to click
  3. root — the cause
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wound — an injury
  7. season — in sport
  8. march — the month
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. season — of the year
  11. wound — an injury
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. root — of a word
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. march — music
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rule — a law
  21. root — of a plant
  22. rule — government
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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