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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mate — a partner
  3. root — of a plant
  4. mate — a friend
  5. root — the cause
  6. band — a ring
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. root — of a word
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. capital — a city
  12. march — the month
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. deal — to handle
  15. band — a music group
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. mate — to breed
  20. march — music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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