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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. march — the month
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. face — to confront
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. march — music
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pitch — completely
  13. face — to point toward
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. rule — a law
  19. kid — to tease
  20. march — the month
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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