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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 120 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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. rule — government
  3. mate — to breed
  4. root — the cause
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. field — a subject
  8. rash — hasty
  9. object — a thing
  10. rule — a law
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. root — of a plant
  13. object — an aim
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. field — for sport
  18. object — to protest
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. field — farmland
  23. squash — the sport
  24. rash — a series

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