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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · root · wind · board · rule · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rule — a law
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. root — of a word
  6. swing — music
  7. rule — government
  8. root — the cause
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — to get on
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. swing — in golf
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. board — a committee
  18. swing — to play on

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