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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · root · wind · bound · net · suit · rule · ground

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. net — after costs
  3. ground — crushed
  4. root — of a plant
  5. bound — obliged
  6. suit — to fit
  7. ground — the earth
  8. net — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. ground — a position
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. root — of a word
  15. suit — clothes
  16. rule — a law
  17. suit — in cards
  18. rule — government
  19. net — for catching
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. root — the cause
  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