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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: bear · kid · lean · land · degree · bark · bulb · wave

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lean — thin
  13. kid — child
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bear — the animal
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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