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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bulb — for light
  3. root — of a word
  4. bulb — for light
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. saw — the tool
  13. track — a path
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. saw — the tool
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. root — the cause
  23. bat — the animal
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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