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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a cake
  3. charge — electricity
  4. march — the month
  5. root — of a plant
  6. ground — crushed
  7. march — music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — the cause
  11. charge — a price
  12. march — the month
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — a video
  16. rest — a break
  17. ground — a position
  18. charge — in control
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ground — the earth
  22. clip — for paper
  23. roll — a list
  24. rest — what's left

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