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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bound — certain
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cold — an illness
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ball — a great time
  19. root — the cause
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bound — obliged
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. root — of a word
  24. game — a match

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