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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: mouse · cap · land · root · bulb · rush · spring · drill

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. drill — army training
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. root — the cause
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. drill — the tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. root — of a plant
  21. land — a country
  22. root — of a word
  23. spring — of water
  24. bulb — of a plant

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