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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. land — ground
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. root — the cause
  6. last — finally
  7. key — in music
  8. drill — the tool
  9. march — the month
  10. last — final
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. key — the most important part
  14. last — to go on
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. root — of a plant
  19. spell — letters
  20. root — of a word
  21. land — a country
  22. spell — a short time
  23. land — to come down
  24. spell — magic

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