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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. club — a group
  3. spring — a coil
  4. present — the time now
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. spring — of water
  8. bulb — for light
  9. present — a gift
  10. club — for golf
  11. kick — in football
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wake — a trail
  14. root — of a word
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. root — the cause
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spring — the season
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bulb — for light
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. club — for dancing

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