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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: bark · mine · rule · bat · root · jam · march · court

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. court — of law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. march — music
  9. court — for sport
  10. root — of a plant
  11. march — the month
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. march — the month
  14. root — the cause
  15. mine — for digging
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — a law
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. court — of a king
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. root — of a word
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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