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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: wind · club · march · snap · hide · root

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — a group
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. root — the cause
  8. club — for dancing
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wind — moving air
  11. club — for golf
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. root — of a word
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. snap — to click
  18. march — music

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