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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.

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: march · season · cell · saw · bore · bass · face · root

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. march — music
  7. season — in sport
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. saw — the tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. face — to confront
  14. root — the cause
  15. bore — to drill
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cell — in biology
  18. saw — the tool
  19. face — to point toward
  20. season — of the year
  21. cell — a phone
  22. root — of a word
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. march — the month

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