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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: bound · craft · wake · bark · spring · trunk · bulb · land

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bound — certain
  7. land — to come down
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spring — of water
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bark — to shout
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. land — ground
  18. craft — boats
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. land — a country
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bulb — of a plant

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