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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.

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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: mate · cold · root · spring · bulb · game · staff · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — a match
  6. root — the cause
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bore — to tire
  9. spring — of water
  10. staff — a stick
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spring — a coil
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cold — not warm
  20. spring — the season
  21. staff — employees
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mate — a friend
  24. staff — employees

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