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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. staff — employees
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. staff — a stick
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. bulb — for light
  10. scale — in music
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. scale — size or range
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wind — moving air
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fan — a supporter

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