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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 116 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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. sharp — clever
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bulb — for light
  17. row — a line
  18. cold — not warm
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cold — an illness
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. sharp — exactly

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