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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — child
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. ground — a position
  5. cold — not warm
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bound — certain
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bulb — for light
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bark — to shout
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. kid — to tease
  21. ground — crushed
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cold — an illness

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