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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. present — a gift
  3. root — the cause
  4. present — there
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. tube — the underground
  8. root — of a plant
  9. present — the time now
  10. march — music
  11. tube — a container
  12. file — a tool
  13. bound — obliged
  14. march — the month
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. file — a document
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. kid — child
  23. root — of a word
  24. file — a line of people

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