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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bound — tied together
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bass — low music
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bound — certain
  20. branch — a division
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bulb — for light

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