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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 124 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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — a subject
  3. snap — to click
  4. chest — a box
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. field — for sport
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. date — the fruit
  15. tube — a container
  16. bulb — for light
  17. craft — a skill
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — the underground
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bark — to shout
  24. field — farmland

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