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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bound — obliged
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. drill — army training
  5. bound — certain
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. snap — to click
  8. hand — help
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. drill — a practice
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. hand — in cards
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wake — a trail
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. fork — in a road

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