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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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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tear — from crying
  3. root — of a plant
  4. field — farmland
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bat — the animal
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. tear — to rip
  14. club — for dancing
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ruler — for measuring

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