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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. root — of a word
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. root — the cause
  12. hand — help
  13. charge — electricity
  14. net — in sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. march — the month
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. charge — in control
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. root — of a plant
  23. net — after costs
  24. charge — a price

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