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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rest — a break
  3. present — a gift
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bulb — for light
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. rest — what's left
  12. present — the time now
  13. branch — a division
  14. present — there
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fan — a supporter

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