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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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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. root — of a plant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — the cause
  16. bass — low music
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rush — hurry
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. hide — animal skin

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