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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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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: fine · lie · bulb · bark · cold · face · wake · chest

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chest — a box
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fine — high quality
  8. lie — to recline
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. chest — of your body
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fine — all right
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cold — an illness
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bulb — of a plant

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