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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. land — to come down
  6. root — of a word
  7. last — final
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. root — the cause
  11. land — ground
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rash — hasty
  16. race — a contest
  17. last — finally
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. race — humankind
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. last — to go on
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wake — a trail
  24. land — a country

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