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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. court — of law
  6. root — of a word
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. march — music
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. march — the month
  12. root — of a plant
  13. court — for sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. date — the fruit
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. court — of a king
  21. root — the cause
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. temple — side of the head

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