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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. field — a subject
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bulb — for light
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. field — farmland
  16. chip — for betting
  17. field — for sport
  18. shower — rain
  19. kid — child
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bark — to shout
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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