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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 120 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. mug — a face
  5. net — for catching
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a plant
  8. tear — to rip
  9. march — the month
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chair — a leader
  13. net — after costs
  14. mug — a cup
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bat — the animal
  17. net — in sport
  18. root — of a word
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chair — to sit on

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