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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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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: march · staff · mate · net · wind · last · mouse · root

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. net — after costs
  3. wind — moving air
  4. staff — employees
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mate — a partner
  7. staff — employees
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. march — the month
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. root — of a word
  13. last — final
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mate — a friend
  17. last — finally
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. staff — a stick
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. last — to go on
  24. root — the cause

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