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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. land — to come down
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. root — of a plant
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — moving air
  10. land — ground
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wind — moving air
  13. club — a group
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. land — a country
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. tear — to rip
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wind — to turn a key

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