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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bulb — for light
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bank — of a river
  9. file — a tool
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. file — a document
  16. key — in music
  17. bank — for money
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bank — for money
  20. bulb — for light
  21. branch — a division
  22. cold — not warm
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cold — an illness

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