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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 · root · fall · straw · kid · charge · season · patient

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. season — of the year
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a plant
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. charge — electricity
  10. root — of a word
  11. fall — to drop
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. kid — to tease
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. kid — child
  20. season — in sport
  21. charge — in control
  22. wind — moving air
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. charge — a price

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