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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pop — to visit
  3. root — the cause
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. root — of a word
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pop — music
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. scale — in music
  12. prune — to trim
  13. scale — size or range
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pass — a permit
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pop — soda
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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