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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rock — music
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bulb — for light
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cell — a phone
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. march — music
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rock — a stone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bulb — for light
  24. march — the month

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