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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: pit · degree · tube · wind · bark · bulb · pound · row

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bulb — for light
  10. row — to paddle
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. tube — the underground
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pound — a weight
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pit — in a race
  21. row — a line
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tube — a container
  24. bulb — for light

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