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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bark — to shout
  10. sharp — clever
  11. cold — an illness
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bulb — for light
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bulb — for light
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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