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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. net — after costs
  4. bark — to shout
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. net — in sport
  7. bulb — for light
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cell — a phone
  10. shower — rain
  11. net — for catching
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. file — a tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. shower — to wash
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. file — a document

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