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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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. root — of a plant
  6. march — the month
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. race — the arms race
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pass — a permit
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. march — music
  14. drill — the tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. race — humankind
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — a practice
  19. saw — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. race — a contest
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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