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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fall — to drop
  4. field — farmland
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. rush — hurry
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. field — a subject
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. squash — the sport
  15. plane — a tool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. fall — the season
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. field — for sport
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. root — of a word

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