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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bound — tied together
  3. face — to confront
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. face — to point toward
  7. spring — a coil
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. spring — of water
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bound — certain
  14. mate — to breed
  15. spring — the season
  16. perch — the fish
  17. squash — to crush
  18. root — of a word
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. face — part of the head
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mate — a friend

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