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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rash — a series
  3. root — of a word
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. net — for catching
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. march — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. root — the cause
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cold — an illness
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. root — of a plant
  22. net — in sport
  23. march — the month
  24. net — after costs

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