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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. present — the time now
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mate — a partner
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. mate — to breed
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. rock — music
  12. shower — rain
  13. present — there
  14. march — the month
  15. root — of a plant
  16. mate — a friend
  17. present — a gift
  18. ground — the earth
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. shower — to wash
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a word
  24. rock — a stone

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