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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: cell · land · mate · track · march · row · root · bulb

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. root — the cause
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cell — a phone
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. mate — a friend
  12. root — of a word
  13. row — a line
  14. track — a song
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. land — to come down
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mate — a partner
  20. march — music
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bulb — for light
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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