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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. track — a song
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cue — for pool
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cue — a signal
  7. land — ground
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. clip — for paper
  10. march — music
  11. root — of a word
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. clip — to cut
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. march — the month
  18. track — a path
  19. root — the cause
  20. cue — a hint
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. land — to come down
  23. clip — a video
  24. land — a country

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