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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bound — obliged
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mark — a trace
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rest — a break
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cell — in biology
  24. prune — to trim

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