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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: swing · saw · fork · bark · tube · last · present · bulb

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. last — final
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bulb — for light
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. swing — music
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bark — to shout
  13. tube — the underground
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. present — the time now
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. swing — to play on
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bulb — for light
  22. last — finally
  23. present — there
  24. fork — in a road

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