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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. current — of water
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bound — tied together
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. race — humankind
  11. current — electric
  12. field — for sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bound — obliged
  17. root — of a word
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. field — farmland
  20. current — happening now
  21. bound — certain
  22. field — a subject
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wind — moving air

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