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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 120 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bulb — for light
  3. root — of a word
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. game — a match
  14. bound — certain
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. root — of a plant
  19. pit — in a race
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bulb — for light
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. ground — a position
  24. root — the cause

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