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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 120 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. band — a music group
  3. bulb — for light
  4. court — of law
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. present — a gift
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. tear — to rip
  12. present — there
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. fall — to drop
  17. game — wild animals
  18. present — the time now
  19. court — for sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — of a king

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