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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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468
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: saw · bulb · wave · season · bark · pitch · mark · wind

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. season — of the year
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bulb — for light
  5. saw — the tool
  6. season — in sport
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bark — to shout
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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