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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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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. hand — help
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a plant
  7. pitch — completely
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spring — the season
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. root — of a word
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. spring — of water
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pitch — a sports field

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