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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. march — the month
  3. firm — decided
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. root — the cause
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mate — a partner
  14. firm — a company
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mate — to breed
  17. firm — steady
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. march — music
  20. root — of a word
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chest — a box
  24. root — of a plant

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