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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bat — the animal
  6. club — for golf
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. club — a group
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bulb — for light
  11. root — of a word
  12. rush — hurry
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. root — of a plant
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. root — the cause
  18. bulb — for light
  19. club — for dancing
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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