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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. land — ground
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. saw — the tool
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. saw — the tool
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. drill — army training
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. club — a group
  13. march — the month
  14. club — for golf
  15. land — to come down
  16. march — the month
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. march — music
  21. land — a country
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. club — for dancing
  24. root — of a plant

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