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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cold — an illness
  7. root — of a plant
  8. rash — a series
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cap — a hat
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. rash — hasty
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. prune — to trim
  19. root — the cause
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — of ice
  24. root — of a word

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