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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. rash — a series
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. last — finally
  4. march — music
  5. root — of a word
  6. last — to go on
  7. net — after costs
  8. march — the month
  9. last — final
  10. net — in sport
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. march — the month
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rash — hasty
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. root — the cause
  19. lean — thin
  20. net — for catching
  21. lean — to bend
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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