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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. snap — to click
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. capital — money
  7. root — of a plant
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. capital — a city
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. root — the cause
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rash — a series
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bulb — for light
  24. root — of a word

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