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

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bound — tied together
  3. snap — to click
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bound — certain
  6. capital — money
  7. root — of a plant
  8. capital — a city
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bound — obliged
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. mate — a partner
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rock — a stone

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