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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. spring — of water
  4. shower — rain
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — the season
  11. file — a tool
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wind — moving air
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. shower — to wash
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. file — a document
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bulb — for light
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ruler — for measuring

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