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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. board — a committee
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. board — to get on
  7. bass — the fish
  8. dip — to sink
  9. spring — the season
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bass — low music
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. spring — a coil
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. spring — of water
  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