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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spell — a short time
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. bulb — for light
  6. spell — letters
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. scale — size or range
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. court — for sport
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. root — the cause
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. court — of a king
  18. row — a line
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. court — of law
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. row — to paddle
  24. scale — in music

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