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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. rock — music
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. shower — rain
  9. file — a document
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rock — a stone
  13. shower — to wash
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. face — to confront
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bulb — for light
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. land — a country
  23. rock — to move gently
  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