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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: race · wind · root · hide · mate · current · cabinet · march

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mate — a friend
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. current — happening now
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. race — humankind
  7. root — of a plant
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. current — of water
  12. march — the month
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. march — the month
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. current — electric
  19. root — of a word
  20. race — a contest
  21. march — music
  22. race — the arms race
  23. root — the cause
  24. mate — to breed

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