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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. bound — tied together
  2. kid — child
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. file — a document
  7. row — to paddle
  8. last — final
  9. content — the amount
  10. kid — to tease
  11. snap — to click
  12. content — happy
  13. file — a line of people
  14. last — to go on
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. row — a line
  21. file — a tool
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. content — videos and posts
  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