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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. march — the month
  3. fine — high quality
  4. root — of a word
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fine — all right
  13. game — a match
  14. track — a path
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wound — an injury
  17. root — the cause
  18. game — wild animals
  19. march — the month
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spring — the season
  22. march — music
  23. track — a song
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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