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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 120 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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. branch — a division
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. track — a path
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. track — a song
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. board — to get on
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. game — wild animals
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. game — a match
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. board — a committee

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