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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: bank · bark · tube · spring · leaves · bulb · pitch · cold

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bank — of a river
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bank — for money
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bark — to shout
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bank — for money
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. pitch — a sports field
  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