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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a music group
  3. drill — a practice
  4. root — the cause
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. band — a ring
  10. suit — clothes
  11. suit — to fit
  12. spring — the season
  13. root — of a word
  14. drill — army training
  15. sharp — clever
  16. spring — of water
  17. drill — the tool
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. spring — a coil
  21. march — music
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. suit — in cards

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