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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · root · cold · lie · last · bound · kick · wax

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bound — obliged
  4. land — a country
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bound — tied together
  7. last — to go on
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. root — of a word
  11. last — final
  12. lie — to recline
  13. kick — in football
  14. wax — to grow
  15. land — to come down
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. last — finally
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wax — in the ear
  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