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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bear · hand · prune · cold · bulb · bat · bowl

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. hand — help
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bat — in an idiom

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