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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. capital — a city
  3. root — of a word
  4. wind — moving air
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. root — of a plant
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. perch — the fish
  12. spring — the season
  13. kid — child
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. kid — to tease
  17. root — the cause
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — obliged
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. capital — money
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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