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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · last · root · season · track · march · dip · kick

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. dip — to sink
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. root — of a plant
  10. last — finally
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. root — the cause
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. season — of the year
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — music
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. track — a path
  20. kick — in football
  21. track — to keep track
  22. root — of a word
  23. season — in sport
  24. track — a song

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