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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. root — of a word
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. club — for golf
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. root — of a plant
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. snap — to click
  14. firm — steady
  15. march — music
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. firm — decided
  19. club — for dancing
  20. firm — a company
  21. root — the cause
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. club — a group
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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