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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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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: season · bark · root · chest · rash · plane · prune · bulb

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bulb — for light
  7. season — in sport
  8. rash — a series
  9. chest — of your body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. root — of a word
  16. chest — a box
  17. plane — a tool
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a plant
  20. season — of the year
  21. rash — hasty
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. season — to add flavour

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