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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. land — to come down
  3. staff — a stick
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. march — music
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. march — the month
  9. net — after costs
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. land — ground
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. land — a country
  15. root — of a plant
  16. march — the month
  17. net — for catching
  18. root — of a word
  19. net — in sport
  20. rule — a law
  21. chair — a leader
  22. root — the cause
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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