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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. root — the cause
  3. degree — from a university
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. march — the month
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. band — a ring
  13. march — music
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. degree — an amount
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. band — a music group
  24. wave — with your hand

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