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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. foot — a measure
  4. root — of a plant
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. march — the month
  7. club — a group
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. march — the month
  12. hand — help
  13. march — music
  14. root — the cause
  15. rash — hasty
  16. club — for golf
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. club — for dancing
  20. root — of a word
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. rash — a series

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