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

Word bank: squash · race · march · cue · root · perch · spring · kid

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. march — music
  3. kid — child
  4. cue — a signal
  5. spring — the season
  6. perch — the fish
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — of water
  10. kid — to tease
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cue — a hint
  13. race — humankind
  14. root — the cause
  15. cue — for pool
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. race — a contest
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. squash — the sport
  21. race — the arms race
  22. squash — to crush
  23. root — of a word
  24. perch — for a bird

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