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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: rock · bulb · cold · rush · row · dip · bowl · bark

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cold — an illness
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to sink
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rock — music
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bark — to shout
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bulb — for light
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. row — a line

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