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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. suit — clothes
  3. pit — a hole
  4. root — of a plant
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. root — the cause
  7. suit — in cards
  8. root — of a word
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. wake — a trail
  15. spring — the season
  16. tear — from crying
  17. spring — of water
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. tear — to rip
  20. suit — to fit
  21. spring — a coil
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. pit — in a race

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