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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. march — music
  3. chest — a box
  4. rule — government
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rule — a law
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. prune — to trim

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