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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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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: kid · bulb · trunk · chest · bark · foot · scale · cap

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bark — to shout
  8. chest — a box
  9. scale — size or range
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. kid — child
  17. cap — of ice
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. foot — a measure
  24. scale — in music

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