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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 124 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bulb — for light
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. perch — the fish
  13. key — the most important part
  14. track — to keep track
  15. capital — money
  16. root — the cause
  17. track — a song
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. root — of a plant
  20. swing — in golf
  21. key — for a lock
  22. capital — a city
  23. root — of a word
  24. key — 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