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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 116 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 the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. root — of a plant
  3. wind — moving air
  4. root — of a word
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. snap — to click
  9. field — for sport
  10. bulb — for light
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bulb — for light
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. field — a subject
  22. root — the cause
  23. field — farmland
  24. wind — to turn a key

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