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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. root — of a plant
  4. spring — of water
  5. bulb — for light
  6. spring — the season
  7. game — a match
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. mate — a partner
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mate — to breed
  14. root — the cause
  15. game — wild animals
  16. root — of a word
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bulb — for light

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