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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. root — of a plant
  8. chair — a leader
  9. row — a line
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wind — moving air
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. march — the month
  18. row — to paddle
  19. squash — the sport
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a word
  24. chair — to sit on

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