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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.

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: pitcher · capital · lean · fork · date · straw · bulb · root

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — thin
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bulb — for light
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. capital — a city
  15. date — the fruit
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. root — of a word
  18. lean — to bend
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bulb — for light
  21. root — the cause
  22. capital — money
  23. fork — in a road
  24. root — 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