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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. squash — the sport
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. root — of a word
  5. staff — employees
  6. root — of a plant
  7. race — a contest
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — the arms race
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. root — the cause
  18. staff — employees
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mine — for digging
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. staff — a stick
  24. straw — a straw man

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