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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. rock — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pop — soda
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pop — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — to visit
  12. root — of a plant
  13. lie — to recline
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. root — the cause
  19. rock — a stone
  20. root — of a word
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rash — hasty
  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