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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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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: bulb · band · land · root · kick · bark · sharp · snap

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. land — ground
  3. bark — to shout
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bulb — for light
  6. land — a country
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. kick — in football
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a word
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. band — a music group
  16. bulb — for light
  17. band — a ring
  18. root — of a plant
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. sharp — clever
  21. snap — to click
  22. land — to come down
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. kick — with a leg

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