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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 116 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. root — of a word
  3. game — wild animals
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. game — a match
  9. march — the month
  10. tear — from crying
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. root — of a plant
  14. march — the month
  15. root — the cause
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. march — music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mark — to pay attention

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