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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — ground
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a hole
  7. root — of a word
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bound — certain
  10. land — a country
  11. last — to go on
  12. root — of a plant
  13. last — final
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bulb — for light
  19. stem — to come from
  20. land — to come down
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. root — the cause
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. last — finally

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