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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. root — the cause
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. land — a country
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bulb — for light
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. content — the amount
  17. date — the fruit
  18. land — ground
  19. bulb — for light
  20. content — happy
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. plane — a tool
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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