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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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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: straw · rush · wind · ground · mine · root · ruler · wake

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. root — of a word
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. ground — a position
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — for digging
  20. root — of a plant
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ruler — for measuring

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