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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. root — the cause
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. root — of a plant
  5. last — to go on
  6. cue — a signal
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. cue — a hint
  9. clip — for paper
  10. march — the month
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. root — of a word
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fine — high quality
  18. last — finally
  19. charge — electricity
  20. cue — for pool
  21. charge — a price
  22. last — final
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. charge — in control

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