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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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. key — in music
  4. foot — a measure
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bulb — for light
  7. band — a music group
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. key — the most important part
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. band — a ring
  13. rash — hasty
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bulb — for light
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. kid — child
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. key — for a lock
  23. kid — to tease
  24. rash — a series

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