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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. net — in sport
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. net — for catching
  5. object — a thing
  6. bound — tied together
  7. net — after costs
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pop — to visit
  12. root — of a word
  13. wound — an injury
  14. root — of a plant
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pop — soda
  20. root — the cause
  21. mark — a grade
  22. object — an aim
  23. pop — music
  24. object — to protest

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