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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. spring — of water
  4. track — to keep track
  5. spring — the season
  6. season — in sport
  7. bulb — for light
  8. track — a song
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. season — of the year
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bulb — for light
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. spring — a coil
  17. track — a path
  18. bulb — of a plant

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