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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. root — the cause
  4. bore — to tire
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. march — music
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. clip — to cut
  9. chair — a leader
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. ground — the earth
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. march — the month
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. rush — hurry
  21. march — the month
  22. bore — to drill
  23. clip — a video
  24. track — to keep track

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