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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. rest — what's left
  3. track — a path
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. bound — tied together
  9. season — of the year
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. season — in sport
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. root — of a word
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pop — music
  22. bound — obliged
  23. track — a song
  24. season — to add flavour

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