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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. game — a match
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. root — of a plant
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bat — the animal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chest — a box
  19. root — of a word
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. game — wild animals
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. bulb — for light
  24. root — the cause

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