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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bulb — for light
  3. charge — in control
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. spring — of water
  6. bulb — for light
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. hand — in cards
  10. spring — a coil
  11. root — of a plant
  12. kick — in football
  13. hand — help
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. charge — electricity
  16. spring — the season
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. charge — a price
  22. scale — in music
  23. wax — to grow
  24. root — the cause

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