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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.

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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: season · mine · march · temple · cap · racket · perch · root

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. season — of the year
  6. perch — the fish
  7. root — of a plant
  8. march — music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. root — of a word
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cap — of ice
  16. root — the cause
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cap — a lid
  21. season — in sport
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. march — the month
  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