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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bulb — for light
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bank — for money
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bank — for money
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — not warm
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bank — of a river
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. spring — of water

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