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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: bat · spell · root · bulb · ground · bound · face · perch

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. ground — crushed
  3. face — part of the head
  4. root — the cause
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. face — to confront
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bat — the animal
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bulb — for light
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. spell — magic
  17. root — of a word
  18. bulb — for light
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bound — obliged
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spell — a short time

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