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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: temple · wake · content · march · root · bear · bulb · kid

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. march — the month
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. root — the cause
  5. content — happy
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wake — a trail
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. march — music
  13. content — the amount
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. kid — child
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. march — the month
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bulb — for light

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