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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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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: root · bound · object · cold · wave · prune · content · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. root — the cause
  5. bound — obliged
  6. root — of a plant
  7. content — the amount
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chest — of your body
  10. root — of a word
  11. object — to protest
  12. content — happy
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bound — tied together
  16. object — an aim
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. prune — to trim
  21. object — a thing
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bound — certain

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