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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — to shout
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bulb — for light
  20. plane — a tool
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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