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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 116 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: bark · bulb · squash · face · game · object · charge · row

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bulb — for light
  3. row — a line
  4. object — to protest
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bulb — for light
  7. charge — a price
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. face — to point toward
  10. game — a match
  11. squash — the sport
  12. row — to paddle
  13. face — part of the head
  14. object — a thing
  15. face — to confront
  16. bark — to shout
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. charge — electricity
  20. squash — to crush
  21. object — an aim
  22. game — wild animals
  23. charge — in control
  24. game — a kind of play

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