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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. last — to go on
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. wound — an injury
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bulb — for light
  10. root — the cause
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. court — of law
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. drill — the tool
  17. last — final
  18. drill — army training
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. last — finally
  21. wound — an injury
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — of a word
  24. bulb — for light

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