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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. march — the month
  3. current — electric
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. current — of water
  6. march — music
  7. root — of a plant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. cold — an illness
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. current — happening now
  17. root — the cause
  18. pitch — completely
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. march — the month
  21. root — of a word
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pitch — a sports field

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