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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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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: wake · cap · cell · bulb · bat · track · cold · root

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. track — a path
  8. root — the cause
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. root — of a word

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