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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bound — obliged
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. root — the cause
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bound — tied together
  8. cold — not warm
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. net — for catching
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bound — certain
  13. deal — to handle
  14. root — of a word
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. net — after costs
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. root — of a plant
  21. net — in sport
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. perch — the fish
  24. scale — in music

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