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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: face · file · bulb · cold · lash · trunk · march · bark

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. march — the month
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bark — to shout
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. face — to point toward
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. face — to confront
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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