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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. chip — for betting
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. band — a music group
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stem — to come from
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. snap — to click
  12. bulb — for light
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chip — to eat
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. root — of a word
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. game — a match
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. band — a ring
  24. root — the cause

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