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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — to wash
  6. root — of a plant
  7. fall — to drop
  8. root — the cause
  9. capital — money
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — a city
  12. root — of a word
  13. bulb — for light
  14. craft — a skill
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. last — final
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. bulb — for light
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. last — to go on
  24. bulb — 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