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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bay · club · hand · bulb · capital · bark · last · object

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  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. bulb — of a plant
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. last — to go on
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bark — to shout
  8. hand — help
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. capital — a city
  13. hand — in cards
  14. last — final
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. club — for golf
  20. capital — money
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bulb — for light
  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