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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. band — a ring
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — letters
  5. season — of the year
  6. march — music
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — of a plant
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — to protest
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. march — the month
  15. spell — magic
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. band — a music group
  18. pop — music
  19. root — the cause
  20. season — in sport
  21. object — an aim
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pop — soda

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