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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. march — the month
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. bound — tied together
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. root — of a plant
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. net — after costs
  14. bound — certain
  15. root — of a word
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. net — for catching
  20. foot — a measure
  21. root — the cause
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. net — in sport

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