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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. current — electric
  3. net — for catching
  4. bound — obliged
  5. cold — not warm
  6. root — of a word
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. shower — to wash
  10. root — the cause
  11. net — in sport
  12. current — happening now
  13. clip — for paper
  14. current — of water
  15. shower — rain
  16. cold — an illness
  17. clip — to cut
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. net — after costs
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bound — certain
  23. clip — a video
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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