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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bulb — for light
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. bark — to shout
  10. spring — the season
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mate — a friend
  13. content — happy
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. content — the amount
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. spring — of water
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bulb — for light

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