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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. rash — a series
  7. field — for sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. march — the month
  11. race — a contest
  12. field — a subject
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. branch — a division
  19. root — the cause
  20. fine — all right
  21. field — farmland
  22. rash — hasty
  23. race — humankind
  24. march — the month

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