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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 · straw · root · cold · mug · pop · rule · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pop — soda
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pop — to visit
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pop — music
  10. root — the cause
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rule — a law
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chair — a leader
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pass — a permit
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — to rob
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. root — of a word
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pass — to spend time

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