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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. content — happy
  3. march — the month
  4. root — the cause
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. march — music
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. fork — in a road
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. root — of a word
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. root — of a plant
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. march — the month
  20. cell — in biology
  21. content — the amount
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. kick — in football

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