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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. root — the cause
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bulb — for light
  6. march — the month
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. game — a match
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. face — part of the head
  16. row — a line
  17. face — to point toward
  18. march — the month
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. root — of a word
  21. face — to confront
  22. row — to paddle
  23. game — wild animals
  24. march — 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