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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pop — music
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fork — in a road
  11. pop — soda
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. craft — boats
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bark — to shout
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bulb — for light
  23. craft — a skill
  24. mine — belonging to me

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