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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — moving air
  8. root — of a plant
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pit — a hole
  13. saw — the tool
  14. race — humankind
  15. march — music
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. pit — in a race
  18. root — of a word
  19. wind — moving air
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. race — the arms race
  23. root — the cause
  24. deal — to handle

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