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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: bore · deal · rash · bulb · track · root · land · wound

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wound — an injury
  3. track — a path
  4. track — to keep track
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bore — to tire
  9. track — a song
  10. root — of a word
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rash — a series
  19. land — a country
  20. bore — to drill
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bulb — for light
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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