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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. rash — hasty
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. hand — help
  8. root — of a word
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. race — the arms race
  14. date — the fruit
  15. root — the cause
  16. wake — a trail
  17. hand — in cards
  18. root — of a plant
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. race — a contest
  21. rash — a series
  22. bulb — for light
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. race — humankind

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