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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: wake · spell · sharp · land · root · bulb · wound · pop

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. root — the cause
  3. bulb — for light
  4. land — a country
  5. pop — soda
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. land — to come down
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. land — ground
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. spell — magic
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — of a plant
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. pop — music
  22. root — of a word
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wake — a trail

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