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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. spring — a coil
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. saw — the tool
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. snap — to click
  8. field — a subject
  9. saw — the tool
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. root — of a plant
  13. field — for sport
  14. perch — the fish
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. bound — certain
  18. spring — of water
  19. field — farmland
  20. bound — tied together
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. spring — the season
  23. toast — bread
  24. bound — obliged

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