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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. drill — army training
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. root — of a word
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. drill — a practice
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. root — of a plant
  13. march — music
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. march — the month
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wake — a trail
  20. band — a music group
  21. drill — the tool
  22. march — the month
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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