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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spring — the season
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. spring — a coil
  9. suit — clothes
  10. scale — in music
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. spring — of water
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bark — to shout
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. suit — to fit
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bulb — for light
  22. suit — in cards
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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