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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · bulb · temple · game · bark · capital · content · net

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. net — for catching
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bark — to shout
  6. game — a match
  7. content — happy
  8. land — a country
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. game — wild animals
  11. net — in sport
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. content — the amount
  17. capital — money
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. net — after costs
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. capital — a city
  24. bark — of a tree

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