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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. board — a committee
  4. spring — of water
  5. board — to get on
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. kick — in football
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bulb — for light
  20. march — music
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. march — the month

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