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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: season · content · bulb · degree · tube · trunk · bark · wound

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. tube — the underground
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. season — of the year
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wound — an injury
  15. season — in sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. content — happy
  21. tube — a container
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. trunk — of a car

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