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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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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: bat · band · rest · bark · trunk · bulb · current · patient

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. bulb — for light
  3. current — happening now
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. current — electric
  8. bark — to shout
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rest — a break
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bulb — for light
  17. band — a music group
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. current — of water
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  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