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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. last — final
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. squash — to crush
  9. root — of a plant
  10. rock — a stone
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rock — music
  14. root — of a word
  15. last — finally
  16. chest — of your body
  17. root — the cause
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cell — in biology
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. last — to go on
  24. cell — a phone

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