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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bark — to shout
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stem — to come from
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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