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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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. march — music
  3. root — of a word
  4. march — the month
  5. rock — a stone
  6. march — the month
  7. last — to go on
  8. degree — an amount
  9. root — the cause
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. last — finally
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. degree — from a university
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cell — in biology
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. last — final
  22. shower — to wash
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. root — of a plant

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