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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 120 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pop — soda
  4. file — a document
  5. wound — an injury
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. rock — a stone
  12. root — of a word
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pop — to visit
  16. tube — a container
  17. root — of a plant
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wound — an injury
  21. root — the cause
  22. pop — music
  23. rock — music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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