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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 116 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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. ball — a dance
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. tube — a container
  6. capital — a city
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ball — a great time
  9. root — of a word
  10. scale — in music
  11. bulb — for light
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. root — of a plant
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. capital — money
  22. kid — child
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. root — the cause

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