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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: root · wake · tube · kid · face · spell · bulb · bark

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tube — a container
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. spell — magic
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spell — a short time
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. bark — to shout
  17. kid — child
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. spell — letters
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. root — the cause
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wake — a trail

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