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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. race — a contest
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. lean — thin
  10. race — humankind
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. lean — to bend
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. file — a tool
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. file — a document
  24. sharp — with an edge

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