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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pop — soda
  5. net — after costs
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rest — a break
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pop — to visit
  13. net — for catching
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. net — in sport
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pop — music
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. saw — the tool

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