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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. mate — a partner
  3. land — to come down
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cap — of ice
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — a lid
  10. content — the amount
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rash — hasty
  14. land — ground
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. land — a country
  17. saw — the tool
  18. march — the month
  19. content — happy
  20. root — the cause
  21. cap — a hat
  22. root — of a plant
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — on the skin

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