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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: season · rash · safe · bowl · march · hand · tear · root

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rash — hasty
  3. hand — in cards
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — from crying
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. tear — to rip
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. season — in sport
  17. root — the cause
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. march — music
  20. rash — a series
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. season — of the year
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. root — of a word

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