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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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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: ball · bulb · file · rash · nail · fine · perch · root

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rash — hasty
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fine — all right
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bulb — for light
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. ball — a great time
  15. perch — the fish
  16. root — of a word
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rash — a series
  19. root — of a plant
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fine — high quality
  22. root — the cause
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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