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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pop — soda
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bulb — for light
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bark — to shout
  14. swing — in golf
  15. file — a tool
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. court — of a king
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. file — a document
  21. swing — music
  22. court — for sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. court — of law

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