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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rock — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. tear — from crying
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. root — the cause
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. root — of a plant
  13. tear — to rip
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a song
  18. rock — a stone
  19. track — to keep track
  20. rash — a series
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. track — a path
  23. root — of a word
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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