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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bulb — for light
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. land — to come down
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. root — of a plant
  12. stand — to bear
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. root — the cause
  15. land — ground
  16. wake — a trail
  17. kid — child
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. root — of a word
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. cold — not warm
  23. land — a country
  24. kid — to tease

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