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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: rush · bark · spring · clip · bulb · present · bass · drill

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. present — a gift
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. clip — a video
  5. present — there
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. drill — a practice
  9. spring — the season
  10. drill — the tool
  11. present — the time now
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bass — low music
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. clip — for paper
  24. drill — army training

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