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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 are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. root — the cause
  3. wax — to grow
  4. scale — size or range
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. season — in sport
  9. root — of a plant
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. shower — to wash
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. shower — rain
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. season — of the year
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. root — of a word

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