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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. root — of a word
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ground — crushed
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. root — of a plant
  11. field — farmland
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. vault — a safe
  14. ground — a position
  15. field — a subject
  16. capital — a city
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. pitch — completely
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. field — for sport
  22. ground — the earth
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bulb — for light

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