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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: tear · squash · rash · march · cell · pop · root · date

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. march — the month
  4. pop — soda
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rash — hasty
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. march — music
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rash — a series
  14. date — the fruit
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cell — a phone
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. march — the month
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — of a plant
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. root — the cause
  24. tear — from crying

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