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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rash — hasty
  5. spring — of water
  6. board — to get on
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. spring — the season
  12. board — a committee
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wax — to grow
  16. row — a line
  17. rash — a series
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. spring — a coil
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. board — a flat piece

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