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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bulb — for light
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mate — a partner
  6. staff — employees
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bulb — for light
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — army training
  14. hand — in cards
  15. staff — a stick
  16. hand — help
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. march — the month
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. drill — a practice
  22. staff — employees
  23. march — music
  24. drill — 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