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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. root — of a word
  3. spring — a coil
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spring — the season
  6. bound — obliged
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bound — tied together
  10. spring — of water
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wake — a trail
  13. root — of a plant
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. root — the cause
  16. cell — in biology
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bound — certain

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