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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. root — of a plant
  4. rash — a series
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cold — not warm
  7. track — a song
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. rash — hasty
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. root — of a word
  17. bulb — for light
  18. squash — to crush
  19. track — to keep track
  20. root — the cause
  21. bulb — for light
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. drill — army training

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