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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. chair — a leader
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rule — government
  7. rock — music
  8. root — of a word
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rule — a law
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. rock — a stone
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wind — moving air
  24. tear — to rip

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