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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. root — of a word
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. band — a music group
  10. march — music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitch — completely
  13. march — the month
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — a face
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. band — a ring
  20. march — the month
  21. bulb — for light
  22. mug — to rob
  23. root — the cause
  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