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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. pop — music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pop — soda
  10. cold — an illness
  11. press — to push
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. press — a publisher
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. press — newspapers
  19. pop — to visit
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bound — tied together
  23. chair — a leader
  24. row — a line

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