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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bound — obliged
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bound — certain
  7. prune — to trim
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cell — in biology
  11. root — of a plant
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bound — tied together
  15. sharp — clever
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pound — a weight
  24. foot — a measure

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