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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · land · root · press · march · tear

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. march — music
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. tear — to rip
  6. march — the month
  7. press — newspapers
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. kick — in football
  12. root — of a plant
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — ground
  15. march — the month
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. root — the cause
  18. kick — with a leg

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