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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 116 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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Word bank
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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. root — of a word
  3. pit — in a race
  4. drill — a practice
  5. cold — not warm
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wind — moving air
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bulb — for light
  14. drill — army training
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. face — to point toward
  19. root — the cause
  20. pit — a hole
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. face — to confront
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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