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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. march — the month
  5. rush — hurry
  6. root — of a word
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. root — the cause
  9. face — to confront
  10. clip — for paper
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. court — of law
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. court — for sport
  17. face — part of the head
  18. court — of a king
  19. march — music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. clip — to cut
  22. root — of a plant
  23. clip — a video
  24. bark — to shout

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