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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 116 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 valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. march — the month
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. band — a ring
  5. fall — the season
  6. fork — in a road
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. object — an aim
  9. band — a music group
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. object — to protest
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. root — of a plant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — music
  21. root — of a word
  22. fall — to drop
  23. root — the cause
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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