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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bat — the animal
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. track — a song
  8. root — the cause
  9. track — to keep track
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. root — of a word
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. root — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. track — a path
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. march — music

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