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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — to come down
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. land — ground
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bark — to shout
  11. land — a country
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rock — a stone
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. plane — a tool
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mouse — the animal

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