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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. kid — to tease
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bank — for money
  13. spring — the season
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bulb — for light
  16. spring — of water
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. kid — child
  20. bank — for money
  21. press — to push
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bank — of a river
  24. press — newspapers

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