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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 124 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. root — of a word
  4. content — the amount
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. kid — child
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. season — of the year
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. row — a line
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. content — happy
  14. kid — to tease
  15. row — to paddle
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. season — in sport
  19. march — music
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a plant
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. nail — on a finger

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