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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: current · wind · trunk · cap · hand · bark · kick · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. current — happening now
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kick — in football
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. hand — help
  15. current — electric
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. current — of water
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cap — a lid
  24. hand — part of the body

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