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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. root — of a word
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. file — a line of people
  5. saw — the tool
  6. last — final
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. bound — obliged
  10. rock — a stone
  11. pound — a weight
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. root — the cause
  15. last — to go on
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rock — music
  18. track — to keep track
  19. file — a tool
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. file — a document
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. last — finally

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