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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. press — a publisher
  4. march — music
  5. press — to push
  6. root — the cause
  7. last — to go on
  8. net — in sport
  9. shower — rain
  10. march — the month
  11. net — after costs
  12. stock — shares
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. press — newspapers
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. last — finally
  19. march — the month
  20. last — final
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. net — for catching
  24. shower — to wash

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