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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: spring · fall · root · dip · cell · key · tear · bound

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. fall — the season
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. root — of a word
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. key — for a lock
  10. fall — to drop
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bound — tied together
  13. key — in music
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. dip — to sink
  19. root — of a plant
  20. key — the most important part
  21. spring — a coil
  22. root — the cause
  23. tear — from crying
  24. dip — to dunk

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