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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pop — soda
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bear — the animal
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bark — to shout
  15. face — to confront
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. face — part of the head
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bulb — for light
  23. shower — rain
  24. bear — 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