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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 120 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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. band — a music group
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. chest — a box
  10. root — the cause
  11. fork — in a road
  12. march — the month
  13. stem — to come from
  14. band — a ring
  15. root — of a word
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. march — music
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. capital — a city
  22. root — of a plant
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stem — a stem cell

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