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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 120 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 · patient · root · bark · cell · fine · shower · wound

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. root — of a word
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cell — in biology
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fine — all right
  9. shower — rain
  10. fine — high quality
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bulb — for light
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wound — an injury
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. root — the cause

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