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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 chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. root — the cause
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cell — in biology
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. cell — a phone
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. root — of a word
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. kid — to tease
  17. prune — to trim
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bulb — for light
  21. root — of a plant
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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