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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. band — a ring
  4. root — of a word
  5. march — the month
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. snap — to click
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. root — of a plant
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. march — music
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. root — the cause
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. band — a music group
  21. fork — in a road
  22. march — the month
  23. mark — a grade
  24. deal — to handle

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