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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. root — the cause
  3. pop — to visit
  4. march — music
  5. root — of a plant
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — a tool
  8. last — finally
  9. wind — moving air
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. pop — soda
  14. root — of a word
  15. kid — to tease
  16. last — to go on
  17. kid — child
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — final
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. march — the month
  22. pop — music
  23. staff — employees
  24. wind — moving air

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