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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 120 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. kid — child
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. root — the cause
  7. bulb — for light
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. hand — help
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. kid — to tease
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. root — of a plant
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bulb — for light
  19. scale — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. press — to push
  22. root — of a word
  23. hand — in cards
  24. tear — from crying

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