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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wind — moving air
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. spell — letters
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. tube — a container
  13. deal — to handle
  14. spell — magic
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. date — the fruit
  20. root — the cause
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — tied together
  24. spell — a short time

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