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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. season — in sport
  5. root — the cause
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mine — for digging
  9. march — the month
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pop — soda
  14. march — music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. root — of a word
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cue — for pool
  19. pop — music
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cue — a hint
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. hand — help
  24. cue — a signal

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