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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. march — the month
  4. season — in sport
  5. root — of a plant
  6. staff — a stick
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. root — of a word
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. race — humankind
  14. march — music
  15. root — the cause
  16. rule — a law
  17. staff — employees
  18. season — of the year
  19. race — a contest
  20. march — the month
  21. track — a path
  22. race — the arms race
  23. rule — government
  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