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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wake — a trail
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. capital — money
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. root — of a plant
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. degree — from a university
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. degree — temperature
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. capital — a city
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bulb — for light
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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