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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: wound · wind · lie · bark · bulb · net · fork · content

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. net — in sport
  3. bulb — for light
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — to shout
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. net — for catching
  14. content — happy
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fork — in a road
  20. lie — to recline
  21. net — after costs
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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