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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. root — of a word
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. kid — child
  6. perch — the fish
  7. spell — letters
  8. root — the cause
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. spell — magic
  13. root — of a plant
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cap — of ice
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. spell — a short time
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. march — the month
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. march — music
  23. kid — to tease
  24. hide — animal skin

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