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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: chair · staff · cap · mate · wind · root · roll · present

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. staff — employees
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cap — a hat
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. root — the cause
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cap — of ice
  12. roll — a cake
  13. staff — a stick
  14. roll — a list
  15. staff — employees
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chair — a leader
  20. root — of a plant
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. root — of a word

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