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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: bulb · rash · bark · wound · content · bore · land · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. content — the amount
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — happy
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bore — to tire
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. land — to come down
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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