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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. drill — a practice
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. root — of a plant
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bound — certain
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. snap — to click
  11. drill — army training
  12. press — to push
  13. track — a path
  14. drill — the tool
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. mine — for digging
  20. press — a publisher
  21. root — the cause
  22. press — newspapers
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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