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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 124 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cold — an illness
  4. root — the cause
  5. cold — not warm
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. deal — to handle
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. track — a song
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. track — a path
  14. root — of a word
  15. bulb — for light
  16. root — of a plant
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. track — to keep track
  20. scale — in music
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. straw — dry grass

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