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

Word bank: wind · cell · march · leaves · fall · chair · pound · root

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. root — of a plant
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wind — moving air
  5. march — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. root — the cause
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. chair — a leader
  11. root — of a word
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. fall — the season
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. fall — to drop
  21. march — the month
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pound — a weight

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