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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cap — a lid
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pop — soda
  7. march — the month
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. march — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bark — to shout
  17. root — the cause
  18. pound — a weight
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. root — of a word
  22. cap — of ice
  23. pop — music
  24. kid — to tease

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