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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. root — of a word
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. spell — magic
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rash — a series
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. root — the cause
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — moving air
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — a monarch
  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