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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. root — the cause
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bound — obliged
  5. track — a song
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. kick — in football
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. bound — certain
  16. spring — of water
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. field — a subject
  20. track — a path
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. track — to keep track
  24. spring — a coil

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