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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. field — a subject
  3. face — to confront
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. sharp — clever
  6. field — farmland
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. field — for sport
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bulb — for light
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bulb — for light
  24. face — part of the head

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