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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: wake · fork · bark · bulb · field · chest · hide · plane

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. field — farmland
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chest — of your body
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — a subject
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bark — to shout
  18. chest — a box
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. field — for sport
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. chest — of your body

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