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

Word bank: staff · bound · lash · snap · row · root · wake · cold

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. staff — a stick
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. root — of a word
  5. staff — employees
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. staff — employees
  10. snap — to click
  11. root — the cause
  12. bound — obliged
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cold — an illness
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bound — certain
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cold — not warm
  24. row — a line

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