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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: swing · chair · straw · root · row · craft · march · bore

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. swing — to play on
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. root — of a word
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. root — the cause
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bore — to drill
  12. craft — a skill
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. craft — boats
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. root — of a plant
  20. swing — in golf
  21. row — a line
  22. bore — to tire
  23. march — the month
  24. swing — music

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