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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. bulb — of a plant
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hand — help
  8. root — of a word
  9. bulb — for light
  10. race — the arms race
  11. spell — letters
  12. race — humankind
  13. bulb — for light
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fall — to drop
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. hand — in cards
  18. race — a contest
  19. root — the cause
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fall — the season
  23. saw — the tool
  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