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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: root · rest · wound · fall · bulb · pitcher · kid · clip

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kid — child
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. root — of a word
  18. fall — the season
  19. clip — for paper
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wound — an injury
  23. root — the cause
  24. rest — a break

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