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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: season · bark · bulb · kid · branch · deal · wake · capital

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — money
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. season — in sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. kid — child
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. season — of the year
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bulb — for light
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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