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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. firm — steady
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. wind — moving air
  13. root — the cause
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. bound — obliged
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cue — for pool
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. firm — a company
  21. root — of a word
  22. bound — certain
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wind — moving air

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