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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. march — the month
  3. root — of a plant
  4. pit — in a race
  5. kick — in football
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. root — of a word
  9. pit — a hole
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. march — the month
  14. degree — an amount
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — from a university
  17. march — music
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. degree — temperature
  20. perch — the fish
  21. band — a music group
  22. sharp — clever
  23. root — the cause
  24. kick — with a leg

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