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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 · chip · rush · season · bulb · spring · trunk · shower

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. shower — to wash
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. chip — for betting
  9. rush — hurry
  10. spring — of water
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. season — in sport
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chip — to eat
  18. season — of the year
  19. shower — rain
  20. spring — the season
  21. bark — to shout
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. trunk — of a tree

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