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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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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: capital · clip · bulb · bark · bat · safe · bass · plane

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bass — the fish
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. plane — a tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bulb — for light
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bass — low music
  23. clip — a video
  24. bass — the instrument

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