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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. lean — thin
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. root — of a word
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. wind — moving air
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. root — the cause
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. spell — magic
  17. lean — to bend
  18. pit — in a race
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pit — a hole
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wind — to turn a key

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