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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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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 · cell · cold · bulb · bear · wound · lash · fork

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — not warm

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