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

Word bank: chest · wind · safe · root · drill · bound · bowl · row

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. row — a line
  3. chest — a box
  4. root — the cause
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. root — of a plant
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. root — of a word
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chest — of your body
  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