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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: bulb · shower · last · bark · can · leaves · capital · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. can — a tin
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. capital — a city
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. shower — rain
  15. bulb — for light
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. can — to be able to
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. shower — to wash
  20. capital — money
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. last — finally
  23. fork — in a road
  24. can — a tin

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