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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bark — to shout
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. band — a ring
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. field — for sport
  15. bulb — for light
  16. band — a music group
  17. field — farmland
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — to tire

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