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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bound — certain
  3. club — for golf
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. club — a group
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — obliged
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bulb — for light

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