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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. object — an aim
  4. spell — a short time
  5. cold — an illness
  6. object — a thing
  7. cold — not warm
  8. root — of a plant
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spell — magic
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. root — of a word
  15. drill — army training
  16. spell — letters
  17. root — the cause
  18. object — to protest
  19. bound — certain
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bound — tied together
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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