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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. root — of a plant
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bulb — for light
  5. game — a match
  6. bulb — for light
  7. root — of a word
  8. swing — to play on
  9. present — the time now
  10. swing — music
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — money
  16. wind — moving air
  17. root — the cause
  18. capital — a city
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. present — a gift
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. game — wild animals
  23. present — there
  24. wake — a trail

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