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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. branch — a division
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. court — for sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of law
  10. march — music
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cold — an illness
  23. court — of a king
  24. rash — hasty

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