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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. firm — decided
  3. march — the month
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. mate — to breed
  6. root — of a word
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. root — of a plant
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. squash — the sport
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. firm — steady
  14. march — the month
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. present — the time now
  18. march — music
  19. bat — the animal
  20. present — there
  21. firm — a company
  22. squash — to crush
  23. branch — a division
  24. root — the cause

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