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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · bulb · chair · season · bark · fall · race · trunk

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. land — to come down
  6. race — the arms race
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bark — to shout
  12. race — humankind
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fall — the season
  15. land — a country
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. land — ground
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. race — a contest
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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