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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. cold — not warm
  3. object — to protest
  4. bound — certain
  5. land — ground
  6. object — a thing
  7. roll — a cake
  8. scale — size or range
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. land — a country
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. roll — a list
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. land — to come down
  15. object — an aim
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cold — an illness
  20. dip — to sink
  21. root — the cause
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. scale — in music
  24. bound — obliged

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