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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. pop — music
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. march — the month
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. root — of a plant
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. game — a match
  13. pit — a hole
  14. game — wild animals
  15. root — of a word
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pit — in a race
  20. march — music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. root — the cause
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. march — the month

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