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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: land · bulb · season · last · race · clip · bark · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — ground
  4. clip — for paper
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. last — to go on
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. race — a contest
  9. season — in sport
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. clip — a video
  12. land — to come down
  13. bark — to shout
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bulb — for light
  18. race — the arms race
  19. season — of the year
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. race — humankind
  22. last — final
  23. land — a country
  24. last — finally

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