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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. season — in sport
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. march — the month
  6. firm — a company
  7. march — the month
  8. root — of a plant
  9. fork — in a road
  10. drill — a practice
  11. firm — decided
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. season — of the year
  14. root — the cause
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. firm — steady
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. root — of a word
  22. drill — army training
  23. march — music
  24. drill — the tool

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