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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. drill — the tool
  3. board — a committee
  4. root — the cause
  5. field — for sport
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. march — the month
  9. drill — a practice
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. field — a subject
  15. spell — magic
  16. march — music
  17. field — farmland
  18. drill — army training
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. march — the month
  22. wake — a trail
  23. board — to get on
  24. wound — an injury

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