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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 116 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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. root — of a plant
  12. spell — a short time
  13. root — of a word
  14. land — ground
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — music
  17. land — to come down
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. land — a country
  23. root — the cause
  24. 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