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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. root — of a word
  6. capital — money
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a tool
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cue — a signal
  18. capital — a city
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cue — for pool
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. root — the cause

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