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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spell — magic
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bark — to shout
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bulb — for light
  11. band — a music group
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitch — completely
  22. band — a ring
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rush — hurry

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