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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 116 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: spring · bear · game · perch · swing · march · root · kid

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. march — music
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kid — child
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. root — the cause
  11. perch — the fish
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. game — wild animals
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. march — the month
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. spring — of water
  22. march — the month
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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