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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 124 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mate — a friend
  5. march — music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — the cause
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. march — the month
  20. root — of a word
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mate — to breed
  24. straw — dry grass

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