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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 120 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. file — a document
  12. bound — obliged
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — to shout
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wound — an injury
  24. plane — a tool

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