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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mate — a friend
  3. march — the month
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. lean — thin
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rest — a break
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. bore — to tire
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bore — to drill
  20. march — the month
  21. root — of a word
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. march — music

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