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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wind — moving air
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. key — for a lock
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bound — tied together
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. key — the most important part
  12. spring — of water
  13. bound — obliged
  14. root — of a plant
  15. spring — the season
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. key — in music
  18. snap — to click
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bound — certain
  22. root — of a word
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. root — the cause

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