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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. charge — a price
  3. bulb — for light
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. charge — electricity
  8. spring — of water
  9. chair — a leader
  10. root — of a word
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. spring — a coil
  14. snap — to click
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. root — the cause
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fork — in a road
  22. charge — in control
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. spring — the season

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