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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: land · trunk · face · bark · bore · spring · content · bulb

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — the season
  6. bulb — for light
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. face — to confront
  10. bark — to shout
  11. land — ground
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. spring — of water
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. face — to point toward
  18. content — the amount
  19. land — a country
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bore — to drill
  22. content — happy
  23. land — to come down
  24. trunk — of a car

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