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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: chair · bark · cold · root · bulb · face · rush · ruler

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. root — of a word
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bark — to shout
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. chair — a leader
  24. ruler — for measuring

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