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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spring — of water
  3. bear — the animal
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. root — of a word
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. march — the month
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kick — in football
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cue — a hint
  20. spring — the season
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. cue — a signal
  24. degree — an amount

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