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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: bass · chip · clip · kid · last · bark · firm · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. last — to go on
  3. firm — a company
  4. last — final
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. last — finally
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. firm — decided
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. kid — child
  16. bark — to shout
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. firm — steady
  20. chip — for betting
  21. bass — low music
  22. chip — to eat
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bass — the fish

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