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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bulb — for light
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. branch — a division
  5. capital — money
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bulb — for light
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bat — the animal
  12. clip — for paper
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. capital — a city
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. date — the fruit
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bark — to shout
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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