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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rock — music
  3. march — the month
  4. foot — a measure
  5. root — the cause
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rock — a stone
  8. wake — a trail
  9. swing — music
  10. root — of a word
  11. track — a song
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. track — to keep track
  14. march — the month
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. track — a path
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. march — music

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