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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ground — crushed
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. march — the month
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. march — the month
  11. branch — a division
  12. root — the cause
  13. mine — for digging
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. root — of a word
  22. march — music
  23. root — of a plant
  24. leaves — of a tree

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