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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. mug — a cup
  9. root — of a plant
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. mug — to rob
  12. capital — money
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mug — a face
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a grade
  18. shower — to wash
  19. capital — a city
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. arm — part of the body

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