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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. object — to protest
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. drill — a practice
  12. root — of a plant
  13. spring — a coil
  14. root — the cause
  15. object — an aim
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. root — of a word
  18. object — a thing
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spring — the season
  21. drill — army training
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. spring — of water
  24. fork — a garden tool

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