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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: patient · bulb · rest · capital · bark · court · spring · fine

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fine — all right
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. capital — money
  10. court — for sport
  11. bulb — for light
  12. capital — a city
  13. rest — what's left
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. spring — of water
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bark — to shout
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. court — of a king
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. spring — 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