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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 · hand · bass · field · bank · bulb · last · fall

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. hand — help
  3. field — farmland
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. last — final
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. last — finally
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. field — for sport
  15. last — to go on
  16. bank — for money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bark — to shout
  19. field — a subject
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bass — low music
  24. fall — the season

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