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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 120 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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. root — the cause
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rash — a series
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bound — tied together
  8. root — of a word
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bound — certain
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. clip — a video
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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