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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 120 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. court — for sport
  4. club — for dancing
  5. tear — to rip
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. court — of a king
  8. rush — hurry
  9. march — the month
  10. root — of a plant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — from a university
  13. club — for golf
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. court — of law
  16. degree — temperature
  17. root — of a word
  18. march — the month
  19. root — the cause
  20. club — a group
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. tear — from crying

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