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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fall — to drop
  3. charge — electricity
  4. wind — moving air
  5. root — of a plant
  6. charge — in control
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fall — the season
  9. root — of a word
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — child
  12. root — the cause
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. charge — a price
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. kid — to tease

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