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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. land — a country
  3. rash — a series
  4. land — to come down
  5. fall — the season
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. land — ground
  8. rash — hasty
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a document
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. root — the cause
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. root — of a word
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bulb — for light
  22. file — a tool
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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