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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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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: dip · straw · wind · leaves · bulb · bark · cell · chest

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. chest — a box
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wind — moving air
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. chest — of your body
  14. dip — to sink
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. cell — in biology
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bark — to shout
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bulb — for light
  24. dip — a sauce

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