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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. kick — in football
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rule — a law
  15. root — of a plant
  16. march — the month
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spell — magic
  19. march — the month
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. march — music
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. spell — a short time

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