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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kid — child
  5. land — to come down
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. land — a country
  12. pop — soda
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. land — ground
  18. kid — to tease
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bark — of a tree

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