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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: track · racket · bulb · rash · bark · ruler · cold · clip

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. bulb — for light
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bark — to shout
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rash — a series
  16. track — a path
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rash — on the skin

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