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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: wind · root · snap · content · hand · mate · bound · season

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bound — certain
  3. root — of a word
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bound — obliged
  6. snap — to click
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mate — to breed
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wind — moving air
  14. root — of a plant
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. content — the amount
  17. season — in sport
  18. content — happy
  19. season — of the year
  20. hand — help
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. root — the cause

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