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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 120 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. march — the month
  3. branch — a division
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. swing — in golf
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. snap — to click
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. swing — music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bark — to shout

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