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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bass — the fish
  3. race — a contest
  4. root — of a word
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. tear — to rip
  7. march — the month
  8. court — for sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. march — the month
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bass — low music
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tear — from crying
  16. court — of law
  17. root — the cause
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — the arms race
  20. court — of a king
  21. perch — the fish
  22. march — music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. race — humankind

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