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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: bark · pitcher · bulb · fine · deal · hand · object · wound

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wound — an injury
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bark — to shout
  11. object — an aim
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wound — an injury
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fine — all right
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. object — a thing
  24. pitcher — a jug

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