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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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. mate — to breed
  3. snap — to click
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mate — a friend
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bound — obliged
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. root — the cause
  10. field — farmland
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. march — music
  14. root — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. bound — tied together
  17. rule — a law
  18. root — of a word
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — certain
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. mate — a partner
  24. rule — government

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