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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: pop · trunk · root · file · cold · pit · bulb · wound

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pop — soda
  4. file — a tool
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. pop — to visit
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cold — an illness
  12. root — of a word
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bulb — for light
  15. root — the cause
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — an injury
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pit — a hole
  23. file — a document
  24. pop — music

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