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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: wound · bulb · club · roll · court · root · squash · content

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. club — a group
  3. root — of a plant
  4. content — happy
  5. court — of law
  6. club — for dancing
  7. roll — a list
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. court — of a king
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. content — the amount
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wound — an injury
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. court — for sport
  23. roll — a cake
  24. club — for golf

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