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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: root · march · patient · sharp · object · kick · pop · ground

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. root — of a word
  3. march — music
  4. object — to protest
  5. ground — a position
  6. pop — to visit
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ground — crushed
  9. march — the month
  10. root — the cause
  11. object — a thing
  12. pop — soda
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. march — the month
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pop — music
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. object — an aim
  20. kick — in football
  21. root — of a plant
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ground — the earth

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