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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. root — the cause
  4. sharp — clever
  5. club — for golf
  6. march — music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. club — for dancing
  9. root — of a word
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. root — of a plant
  12. capital — a city
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. club — a group
  15. march — the month
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — for digging
  20. key — in music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. capital — money

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