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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: bark · board · bulb · roll · clip · cell · court · pass

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bulb — for light
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cell — a phone
  6. roll — a list
  7. court — of a king
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. board — to get on
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bulb — for light
  14. clip — a video
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pass — a permit
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. board — a committee
  19. roll — a cake
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. court — for sport
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. court — of law

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