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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. prune — to trim
  3. staff — a stick
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. staff — employees
  7. cold — an illness
  8. root — the cause
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. staff — employees
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. game — wild animals
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bulb — for light
  19. face — to point toward
  20. game — a match
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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