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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. march — the month
  3. squash — the sport
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rule — a law
  7. squash — to crush
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. march — music
  11. rule — government
  12. root — the cause
  13. spring — of water
  14. club — for dancing
  15. band — a music group
  16. pitch — completely
  17. club — for golf
  18. march — the month
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. root — of a word
  21. club — a group
  22. root — of a plant
  23. band — a ring
  24. spring — a coil

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