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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. root — of a word
  6. kid — to tease
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. wound — an injury
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — a safe
  12. root — of a plant
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. plane — a tool
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. wound — an injury
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. root — the cause
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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