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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: straw · pitcher · rash · season · wound · spring · root · rule

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spring — the season
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. root — the cause
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rule — government
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spring — of water
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. root — of a word
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rash — hasty
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rule — a law
  24. rash — a series

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