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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. club — a group
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. degree — an amount
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bulb — for light
  12. club — for golf
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. row — a quarrel

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