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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 120 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: root · straw · lean · wake · pound · wind · game · march

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. march — the month
  6. root — the cause
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. game — a match
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. march — music
  17. pound — a weight
  18. root — of a word
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. game — wild animals

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